Beijing´s floral look for Olympics

Welcome to Beijing! The city is getting a new floral look ahead of the arrival of athletes and visitors from around the world. 24 flower beds adorn Chang'an Street, the main street running across the city from west to east. Li Chunxia takes a look.

Chinese lucky charm, lantern, dragon seal and bronze chalice, or "jinjue" in Chinese Flowers have been arranged in a variety of designs. The flowers remind us that it will soon be August 8th!

Twenty-four flower beds along Chang'an Street, which stretches over 12 kilometers, feature Olympic themes and traditional Chinese designs. The over 120 varieties of flowers used were selected for their ability to withstand the high humidity and baking sunlight of summer.

Botanical experts have given the flowers a special treatment so they will bloom on time for the Games and for a period at least as long as the Olympic month.

Major streets in Beijing will all boast a new floral look by the end of this month.

US Olympic delegation leaves for Beijing

The first group of athletes in the US Olympic delegation has left San Francisco for Beijing. Before their departure, they all gathered at the San Jose State University for final preparations.

The training at the San Jose State University was the final stage in the preparations for US athletes. From here, they will next focus on their quest for glory in Beijing. All the athletes complete a series of procedures at the university, including their final registration with the US delegation, receiving their outfits and health checks. The first group of athletes that set out for Beijing on Friday consisted mostly of swimmers and synchronized swimmers.

The US Olympic Committee will dispatch a delegation of more than 600 athletes to the Beijing Olympics. The number of the whole US delegation will reach 2-thousand, coaches and officials included.

But the US delegation will take residence at Beijing Normal University during the Games, instead of the Olympic Village. The delegation has rented apartment buildings at the University for six weeks at a cost of about 500-thousand US dollars. The university administration has divided the campus into two parts. The apartment buildings and stadium rented by the US delegation have been cordoned off and there are guards at every entrance.