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MGV Olympic Special:
The 29th Olympiad -- Beijing 2008

China is Ready!

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Summer Games is holding from the 8th to 24th of August 2008. The Chinese hosts of the 29th Olympiad have prepared very well to receive the world's athletes and sports fans. There are five main venues in and around Beijing and in other provinces, including Hong Kong.

The National Stadium in Beijing is where the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will take place. It is here also that the highly popular track and field events will take place. The National Stadium has a capacity for 100,000 spectators.

The Qingdao International Sailing Center is located in the port city of Qingdao on the southern coastline of the Shandong Peninsula, in east China's Shandong Province. This is where the Olympic Sailing competitions will take place.

The island of Hong Kong will host the equestrian competitions. There are two venues for the Equestrian events. Jumping and dressage will take place at the Shatin Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Venue, in a 100-meter by 80-meter all-weather sand arena, with accomodation for 18,000 spectators. The second event, Cross-Country test of the Eventing competition, will take place at the Beas River Olympic Equestrian Venue which has a 5.7-km cross country track, 10 meters wide and is carved out of the Beas River Country Club and nearby Hong Kong Golf Club.

Olympic football or soccer events will take place in two eastern cities, Tianjin (northeast) and Shanghai (southeast). The Tianjin Olympic Center was constructed specifically for the 2008 Olympics. The stadium covers 78,000 square meters and has a 60,000 persons' seating capacity. The city of Tianjin is located in the autonomous municipality of Tianjin, a large area near Beijing, known as the gateway to the Chinese capital. A recently completed (August 1, 2008) high-speed rail line now connects Tianjin and Beijing and cuts the 120 km commuting time from 70 down to 30 minutes. The Shanghai Stadium has a seating capacity of 80,000 people and was constructed in 1997. Shanghai, located near the Yangtze delta on the East China Sea coast, is the largest city in China. Other Olympic football venues include Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province in northeast China and Qinhuangdao, a city in in Hebei Province across the bay, on the East China Sea, from Tianjin.

The Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium was completed in 2004 after two years of construction. It covers a 168,000 sq m space and can accomodate 33,572 persons. The Shenyang Olympic Sports Centre Stadium can seat 60,000 persons. It includes a 10,000-seat gymnasium, a 4,000-seat natatorium and 4,000-seat tennis court.

The Chinese government invested heavily on new infrastructure for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The new infrastructure, apart from new Olympic venues constructed specifically for Beijing 2008, include an airport and additional subway lines for Beijing as well as the Tianjin-Beijing high-speed train link.