This week, Chinese preservationists suffered the loss of a relatively recent cultural touchstone—the Wulihe Stadium in the northeastern city of Shenyang. In 2001, the People's Republic qualified for soccer's World Cup for the first time there, and the stadium has had a place in many a footy fan's heart ever since. Shenyang is hosting several soccer matches during the 2008 Games, and is building a shiny new venue for the purpose. Wulihe, now redundant, was cleared to make space for a shopping center. On Monday, the structure was brought down—boom!—in less than 7 seconds. What you'll see when you watch today's Thursday Video is China's dynamism in action:

The demolition was not without its critics. The head of a local fan club had raised a huge sum to build memorial statues outside the stadium; he hinted on his blog that he would hide in the stadium and "go down with the ship." (He didn't.) The move may have ticked off others in higher places too - the Communist Party's flagship news site has posted an unusually critical article in English dwelling on the grief of fans and players, such as midfielder Zhao Junzhe:

I don't understand why they had to raze it to the ground. We should not demolish everything, good or bad. I think we need to keep some reminders of China's past soccer glory.