2008 Beijing Olymoic Cities - Shenyang

Shenyang Wulihe Sports Centre


The capital city of Liaoning Province, Shenyang is the economic, cultural, financial and commercial centre of northeast China, with a population of 6.93 million.

It features a typical northern temperate continental climate with four distinct seasons. The annual average temperature is 8.3 degrees Celsius, the lowest temperature is -28.5 degrees Celsius and the highest temperature is 36.1 degrees Celsius.

2008 Beijing Olymoic Cities - Qinhuangdao

Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Centre



Located in Hebei Province of northern China, Qinhuangdao is a beautiful coastal city known for its nice and ice-free port, the Great Wall at Shanhaiguan Pass and the summer resort in Beidaihe. With a population of 2.7 million, Qinhuangdao lies between mountains and the sea, and enjoys a pleasant climate without cold winters or hot summers. The yearly temperatures average at 10.5 degrees Celsius.


Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Centre

The Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Centre Stadium will serve as one of the Football venues during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The stadium lies inside the Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Centre on the Hebei Avenue.

The construction was started in May 2002 and completed on July 30, 2004. Covering 168,000 square meters, the Olympic-standard stadium has a seating capacity of 33,572, 0.2% of which are reserved for the disabled persons.

2008 Beijing Olymoic Cities - Shanghai

Shanghai is situated in the middle of the east coastline and southern wing of the Yangtze River Delta. It is China's major industrial and commercial centre. Shanghai has a population of over 13.5 million, ranking first in China in terms of population and population density. It is an important hub for land, marine and air transportation in China, with its ports ice-free all the year round.

Shanghai is characterized by a warm spring, hot summer, cool autumn and cold winter. July and August are Shanghai's hottest months, with an average temperature of 27.4 degrees Celsius. In winter, January is the coldest month, with a temperature averaging at 3 degrees Celsius.

The Shanghai Stadium

The Shanghai Stadium will serve as one of the Football venues for the 2008 Games. Built in 1997, the stadium covers 190,000 square meters and has a seating capacity of 80, 000.

2008 Beijing Olymoic Cities - Tianjin

Known as "Diamond of the Bohai Gulf", Tianjin is the gateway to the Chinese capital Beijing. With a population of more than 10 million, it is one of the country's biggest industrial centres and one of the key ports. Tianjin's annual average temperature is 12.2 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Celsius in January and 26.8 degrees Celsius in July).

Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium

Serving as one of the Football venues, the Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium covers 78,000 square meters, with a seating capacity of 60, 000. The project went into construction in August 2003 and is due for completion in 2006. Designed by AXS SAWTO Inc. (Japan), the project fully reflects the three Olympic concepts -- "Green Olympics," "High-tech Olympics," and "People's Olympics."

The six-floor stadium, with a length, width, and height of 380, 270, and 53 meters, respectively, can meet the standards of staging international football games and athletics. Along with such affiliated facilities as big marketplace, exhibition hall, conference room, and gym, the stadium is also able to provide the public with space for entertaining, exercising, and shopping.

The ground floor of the stadium includes a 22,670 square meter indoor parking lot, a 3,460 sq. m. exhibition hall, a 6,400 sq. m. dining room, a 5,930 sq. m. health care centre, and a 4,010 sq. m. section for both athletes and referees.

The franchised stores, the health care centre, and the international convention centre on the first floor cover an area of 3,840, 130, and 85 sq. m., respectively.

The second floor contains a 4,320 sq. m. sports and exercise hall, an 85 sq. m. international convention centre, and a 130 sq. m. health care centre.

There is a 4,166 sq. m. box, a 3,030 sq. m. international convention centre, and a 1,440 sq. m. health care centre on the third floor, while there is a 345 sq. m. international convention centre, and a 1,300 sq. m. health care centre on the fourth floor.

The spectator stand, the 8+1 racetrack, the training field, and the turf field cover 34,740 sq. m., 4,560 sq. m., 20,000 sq. m., and 7,680 sq. m., respectively.

The Olympic Centre Stadium is able to accommodate up to 80,000 people, including 500 of the platform and 300 of the press box.

The Olympic Centre

The Tianjin Olympic Centre is situated to the southwest of the city's downtown area. Covering a total of 966,000 sq. m., the Center is divided into three sections -- the competition section, the comprehensive section, and the accommodation section -- with an investment of 880 million US dollars.

The competition section, the comprehensive section, and the accommodation section occupy an area of 453,000 sq. m., 280,000 sq. m., and 233,000 sq. m., separately.

The competition section consists of a grand stadium, an aquatic sports centre, an international sports exchange centre, and an existing Tianjin sports indoor stadium.

2008 Beijing Olymoic Cities - Hong Kong

The site Hong Kong programmed for staging the cross-country eventing of the 2008 Olympic equestrian sport. [BOCOG]


Situated at China's southeastern coastline, Hong Kong has a population of 6.9 million and a total area of 1,103 square kilometers, which consists of the Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula, the New Territories and 262 outlying islands.

Hong Kong features a sub-tropical climate. Temperatures can drop below 10 degrees Celsius in winter and exceed 31 degrees Celsius in summer.

The Equestrian events

All circles in Hong Kong were delighted at July 8's announcement that Hong Kong would co-host the equestrian events of the 2008 Olympic Games. Local authorities had pledged to provide the utmost guarantee of facilities for the success of the Olympic equestrian events.

The Equestrian events will be held at the Hong Kong Sports Institute and Penfold Park in Shatin, Beas River Country Club and part of the adjacent Hong Kong Golf Club.

Hong Kong has in place world-class equine care facilities and medical services for horses, and a group of professionals in the Equestrian events. Hong Kong also has recognized quarantine protocol arrangements with many countries. Besides, Hong Kong's Equestrian sport for riders with disabilities is well-established and takes a leading position in Asia.

2008 Beijing Olymoic Cities - Qingdao

Qingdao, also known as Tsingdao, is a coast city 550-kilometer southeast of Beijing with an urban population of 2.7 million. Possessing China's fifth largest port, Qingdao hosts an array of China's big brands like Hair and Qingdao Beer.


Qingdao was declared Beijing's partner city to bid for the 2008 Olympic Games in July of 2000, a year before Beijing's overwhelming victory in Moscow on July 13, 2001.

In 2008, eleven of the Games' all together 302 golds will be decided from the sailing competitions in Qingdao.

Local government of Qingdao moved a shipyard out from downtown seaside and started the counstruction of the Qingdao International Sailing Centre in April, 2004.




The Centre covers a total area of 45 hectares (450,000 sq.m.), two thirds of which will be utilised for the competitions.

The whole project is comprised of the Land Area, and the Harbor and the Off-shore Section. The projects on land will provide the administration and competition management centre, the athletes' centre, the press centre, the logistic and functional centre, and other affiliated facilities as well.

The Harbor and Off-Shore parts will focus on the engineering of the major and secondary breakwater, an embankment, a quay featuring the Olympic Memorial Wall, and the renovation of the shore wall.


Bird's eye view of the sailing venue's central section.[BOCOG]


The quay, the secondary breakwater, and the embankment will enclose an area of 15.5 hectares (155,000 sq.m.) while the major breakwater, together with the embankment, will occupy 7.5 hectares (75,000 sq.m.).

Additional overlay and facilities will also be placed for temporary use of the Games. A removable surveying shed and a pontoon, for instance, will be set up separately on the embankment and the western quay to facilitate observations and transportation.

2008 Beijing Olymoic Cities - Beijing

Natural environment

BEIJING lies in the north of the North China Plain, at 39 degree 56'N and 116 degree 20'E. It neighbors the Tianjin Municipality in the east, and borders Hebei Province on three sides-the north, west and south.

The terrain of the Beijing area slopes from the northwest to the southeast. Mountains snake round the city's north, west and northeast, while the southeast part of the city is a plain that slopes gently toward the coast of the Bohai Sea.

The Yongding, Chaobai and Juma rivers and the north section of the Grand Cannel crisscross the area under Beijing's jurisdiction. Most of the rivers originate from mountainous areas in the northwest, cut through mountains and zigzag through the plain in the southeast before emptying into Bohai Sea.

Beijing belongs to the warm temperate zone with a semi-humid climate. It has four distinctive seasons, with short springs and autumns while summers and winters are always long. Annual temperatures average 12.8 degrees Celsius. January is the coldest month with an average temperature of -6.4 degrees Celsius, and July, the hottest with an average temperature of 29.6 degrees Celsius. The annual precipitation s measured at 371.1mm, and the frost-free period is 196 days.

Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It covers 16,807.8 square kilometers. Mountainous areas occupy 10,417.5 square kilometers, accounting for 62 per cent of the city's landmass. The rest, 6390.3 square kilometers or 38 per cent of the total, are flatland. The municipality governs 14 urban districts and 4 rural counties.

Abbreviation: Jing

Area: 16,800 square km

Population: 11 million

Month/Mean temperature(C)

Jan: -4.4

Feb: -2.1

Mar: 4.7

April: 13.0

May: 17.2

June: 18.9

July: 23.6

Aug: 25.6

Sept: 24.0

Oct: 19.1

Nov: 12.2

Dec: 4.3


Population and ethnic groups

Beijing had a registered population of 11 million by the end of 2004. The average life expectancy is 74 for Beijing residents. People of all China's 56 ethnic groups are found in Beijing. The vast majority of the population belongs to the Han ethnic group. People of the Hui, Man and Mongolian ethnic groups number more than 10,000 separately.










Historic sites

Beijing is home to the Peking Man, one of the earliest human species that existed some 500,000 years ago. Historic records and archeological findings prove that as a city, Beijing dates to more than 3,000 years ago. It was the capitalof five feudal dynasties-the Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing.

On October 1 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded and, since then, Beijing has been the national capital, the country's political and cultural center and center of the country's international exchange. The Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace are on the UNESCO List of World Heritage.




Climate

Beijing lies in the continental monsoon region in the warm temperature zone and its climate represents as hot and rainy in summer and cold and dry in winter.

The four seasons in Beijing are distinct. It is dry, windy and sandy in spring and hot and rainy in summer. Autumn is the best season in a year when the sky is blue; the air is crisp, mild and humid. However, winter is cold and dry with little snow. The average temperature throughout a year is 11.7. The average temperatures of the hottest month, July and the coldest month January range from 27 and -4.6. The shorter seasons, spring (usually from February to April) and autumn (usually from August to October) are better seasons for visiting Beijing when it is sunny and warm with few tourists crowding in the attractions.

If you come to Beijing in spring, you could wear a thin sweater, a pair of sweat pants, and a coat. But sometimes it may be a good idea to bring a warm cap because it is windy and sandy during this period though it is not cold. In summer the temperature could reach as high as 30. When you go out, you could take an umbrella along with you if it doesn't bother you much, because a downpour may come unexpectedly at evenings from July to August. Autumn is the most beautiful season, but after October you may feel the constant changes of the weather and you may encounter light rains at any moment. So it is better to bring some heavy clothes with you. In winter, you need a heavy woolen sweater, and a long wind coat or a down jacket. Generally there will be two or three heavy snowfalls each winter, so it is always wise for you to have anti-skidding shoes with you when you come. Lastly, don't wear light-color clothes in winter.

Bilingual weather information can be obtained if you dial 121 in Beijing.

(Source: BOCOG)