Imagethief says Beijing will never be a great city until it is attacked by a giant monster. AsiaPundit agrees, and suggests that the city has a few monstrosities already there that could probably do the job just fine.

I’ve come to the conclusion that Beijing cannot be a great, global metropolis until it is attacked by its own giant monster. Thanks to the encyclopaedic reference information contained in two invaluable websites, Stomptokyo.com and Giantmonstermovies.com, I’ve been able to research some of the cities that have been on the receiving end of giant monsters. Sure, you all know that Tokyo has had a fifty year kaiju infestation that has included Godzilla, Gamera and friends. New York got King Kong on multiple occasions plus, as a bonus, the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (by the way, that’s 180,000 feet, or about six times deeper than the deepest part of the ocean). London was attacked by Gorgo. San Francisco got the five-armed octopus of It Came from Beneath the Sea. The list has also has some surprises, including some of Beijing’s key, regional rivals and a few cities you’d never expect:

* Copenhagen was attacked by Reptilicus

* Hong Kong was attacked by Mighty Peking Man in 1977, in an unintentional but apt metaphor for the city’s future

* Rome’s Colosseum was destroyed by Ymir in 20 Million Miles to Earth

* Los Angeles got Them

* North Korea was attacked by Pulgasari, admittedly in ancient times

* South Korea’s Seoul has had various monsters

* Sweden got a monster, although it appears to have been confined to rural areas, in keeping with Scandinavian tidyness

* Bangkok got Garuda

* Even neutral Switzerland had a monster, although it was put there by Americans

* Every tiny town in the American southwest had a Gila Monster, Mantis or giant Lepus at some point, thanks to the tireless efforts of Bert I. Gordon and his contemporaries.

As you would expect, Singapore is monster-proofed, although I think a romp by a giant merlion would do it a world of good.