2008 Olympics: Advice to travelers attending the Beijing Olympics – Part 1

All Olympics lovers around the world are curiously waiting for the upcoming Olympics. Their minds are filled up with all events, games that are going to be held in the Olympics. First and the foremost is to know well about the Olympics. The Olympic Games are considered as an international multi-sport event with various sporting events. In this Olympics, most of the countries look forward for their participation. These Olympics are usually held for every four years. The logo of the Olympics includes five rings in different colors. Many Athletes participate in these Olympics.

The 2008 Summer Olympics will be held in China based Beijing National Stadium during the month of August. Beijing is the capital city of the People’s Republic of China. This Olympics is called as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. The Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee is making the feel of this Olympics by selling over 10 millions of Tickets to the public through different ways. The travelers who are eagerly waiting to show their participation in the upcoming Olympics can also take their great advantage of traveling by visiting China’s most popular tourist attractions such as the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City, and many others. Travelers to China can book the four-star or five-stars hotels that are near to the venue of the Olympics.

Most of the tourist operators of china are providing large facilities for the travelers visiting China to participate in Olympics. For example, Cavalier Travels based in China has made well-arrangements for the travelers. The arrangements include the booking of flights, hotels and cruise ship rooms, visiting wonderful places in China and other facilities. An wonderful opportunity for people who cannot travel to China is that they can feel the original experience of Olympics in their home by watching the television. They can avail full opportunity at their home itself.

Hence, the upcoming Olympics in China is expected to be a great remarkable event around the globe. People staying in China can avail this wonderful opportunity in their beautiful life. Though there may be a language problem for non-Chinese people, but there are many Chinese translations to aid the outside Chinese travelers.

Travel experiences: Last impressions of China – Part 1

The initial impression of a first time traveler to Beijing, the capital of the People’s Republic of China and, with Shanghai and Hong Kong, one of the country’s world class cities, will be the large, new airport and the six lane, ultramodern toll highway to the city’s center. Anyone expecting a small, ramshackle airport and narrow dirt road from the airport lined by water buffalo will be greatly surprised! This initial impression should prepare the traveler to discover a Beijing – and China – with one foot still firmly planted in its long, exotic past and, building on its hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics, another foot in a busy, entrepreneurial and prosperous future.

Beijing is home to 14 million ‘official’ residents and another 3 million whom the city government describes as floating’, i.e., moving around looking for work and residence. In riding a tour bus around the city, one will think each of the city’s residents is driving or walking past the bus! The three most visited attractions in Beijing are Tian’anmen Square and the adjacent Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and sections of the Great Wall near enough to the city for tourist visits.

The Square is one of the largest open air plazas in the world at 4 million square feet and is capable of holding one million people! On the beautiful day we visited, it was colorfully filled – but far from overflow’! – with foreign and Chinese tourists. Most readers will remember the thrilling images from Tian’anmen in spring 1989: the Statue of Liberty crafted by Chinese students to express their desire for more democracy and the single courageous student, bags in hand, who faced down tanks sent to disperse the protesters. Our guide pointed out the grassy area where the statue was placed and the general area where the student stood before the tanks. In contrast to the expression in 1989 of a desire for more freedom, Mao Tse Tung, whom we know to be a mass murderer, is still revered, at least, for his establishing a China free of foreign domination. His tomb is located in Chairman Mao’s Memorial Hall on the south side of the Square and Chinese citizens stand in long, respectful lines waiting to view his body in a crystal coffin.

The Great Hall of the People is located on the west side of the Square and the building housing the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution with an inexpensive admission charge lies on the east. A large photograph of a 56 year old Mao is placed

Summer Olympics 2008 cities

Summer Olympics 2008, China

China will host the prestigious Summer Olympics in 2008.
Already, Olympics fever has gripped China and we’ll probaby see
another exciting Olympics in 2008. The two cities that will host
the Olympics in China are Beijing, which is the nations capital
and Qingdao, a seaside city in the province of Shandong, in
north-east China. Let’s get to know these two Olympics cities
better.

Beijing

Beijing is the capital for China. It was also a capital for the
last two monarchies that ruled China before being overthrown by
Sun Yat Sun in 1911 and has been the capital since Mao Tse Tung
declared China a People’s Republic in 1949.

Beijing is located in northern China, close to Tianjin
Municipality and partially surrounded by Hebei Province. The
city covers an area of more than 16,800 square kilometers (6,487
square miles) and has a population of 13.82 million people.
Beijing is at its best in late spring and autumn, particularly
during the months of May, September, and October when people can
enjoy bright sunshine and blue skies.

As the capital of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing is the
nation’s political, economic, cultural and educational center as
well as being the China’s most important center for
international trade and communications. It has been the heart
and soul of politics and society throughout its long history and
consequently there is an unparalleled wealth of discovery to
delight and intrigue travelers as they explore Beijing’s ancient
past and enjoy its exciting modern development.

Beijing is also the tourist capital of China, boasting of
favourite tourist sites such as :

Great Wall of China

Forbidden City

Summer Palace

Temple of Heaven

Ming tombs

Tiananmen Square.

Beijing will also be the host for the Summer Olympics in 2008.
Already, Olympics fever has gripped the city as construction of
new buildings, hotels and stadiums, sprucing of tourist
facilities, cleaning up of air and water pollution takes on a
fervent pace.

Qingdao

Qingdao is a bustling city located in Shandong province, in the
North East of China. Qingdao will be the site for sailing events
for the Summer Olympics as Beijing is not by the sea.

Qingdao city lies on undulating hills with luxuriantly green
trees and buildings noted for their attractive architectural
styles. The red colour of the tiled roves, green colour of the
trees thills and blue of the sea contrast beautifully. All this
along with its beautiful climate, make the city well-known as a
summer and health resort.

The city occupies an area of 10 654 km2. The city is located in
flatlands, with mountains spurring up nearby. The highest
elevation in the area is 1133 m above sea level. The city has a
730.64-kilometer coastline. Five significant rivers that flow
for more than 50 km can be found in the region.

Qingdao is estimated to be the home for more than 7 million
inhabitants, of which around 2.6 million is residing in the
Qingdao urban area.

Qingdao enjoys mild summers and relatively warm winters, with
the average July temperature at 23.8°C and the average January
temperature at -0.7°C. The city gets most rain in June and July,
at an average of 150 mm.

Qingdao has very strong German influence in the 19th century and
many German influenced buildings can still be seen. In fact,
Qingdao beer is famous throughout the world, and every year,
hundreds of thousands of people, both local and overseas gather
in Qingdao for the annual Beer festival.

Qingdao attracts many tourists due to its seaside setting and
excellent weather. Parks, beaches and sculpture — as well as
some unique architecture — line the shore. Qingdao’s major
attractions include:

* Ba Da Guan, the older area of town with some surviving German
architecture.

* Laoshan, a famous Taoist mountain.

* Lu Xun Park, named after Lu Xun, a famous modern Chinese
writer.

* Qingdao Beer Museum, on the site of the old brewery.

* Qingdao Naval Museum

* Qingdao International Beer City, the primary site of the
annual Qingdao International Beer Festival.

* Qingdao Underwater World

* St. Michael’s Cathedral, a Gothic/Roman cathedral designed by
German architect Pepieruch, completed in 1934.

* Zhan Qiao (Zhan Pier)

* Zhanshan Temple, Qingdao’s only Buddhist temple.

Qingdao has such nice weather and scenary that the China ruling
party has a large rest and retirement santuary in Qingdao for
it’s retired cadres