The arrival of the Olympic games to Beijing means that the city must build a new sports complex for the events. The Olympic “Village” has space for 17,200 athletes and officials. There will be places for living, training, and entertainment. The village is environmentally friendly. The village’s streets have solar-powered lamps, and solar power will also be used as an energy source during to games to reduce carbon emissions. The basic construction of the village is already complete. It will receive its first visitors on July 27. In addition to new construction in Beijing, the city will renovate many historical and cultural sites because many foreigners will visit. The city will restore the Confucius Temple, the Imperial College, the Imperial Ancestral Temple and 28 other important places in Beijing. The tourism bureau made new explanation signs, written in both English and Chinese languages, to put in more than 300 historical sites. The bureau also printed six million copies of Chinese-English tourist maps. Beijing will spend 1.2 billion Yuan to renovate all the sites in eight years.
Actor Jackie Chan recorded a song last year to mark the one-year countdown (the period preceding an important event) until the Olympic games in Beijing. Follow the link below to listen: The lyrics to the song were written by Chan Siu Kei, and are translated from Mandarin to English below: Waiting year after year Waiting day after day This land is prepared We are ready! Waiting every second, every minute The people of our country are prepared We are ready! _________________________________________ Glossary host: n. A place or organization that provides the space and facilities for a special event. |