The sale of the second batch of 1.85 million Beijing Olympics 2008 tickets has been suspended as the ticketing system had crashed on Tuesday. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) apologized for the inconvenience and ensured the Chinese population that the system will resume service on 5th November.

“We underestimated the public’s enthusiasm for the Games…We sincerely apologize to the public for the inconvenience,” Rong Jun (picture above), head of the Olympic ticketing center, told a press conference Wednesday.

The 1.85 million tickets went on sale Tuesday on a first-come, first-serve basis through the ticketing website, a hotline and 1,000 designated branches of the Bank of China.

But demand was much higher than organizers anticipated. The ticketing website saw 8 million hits in the first hour starting 9 a.m., while the ticketing hotline received 3.8 million calls, said Rong.

A total of 7 million tickets for the Games will be on sale with 75% reserved for China’s residents. Foreigners can only purchase the tickets in next April.

Everyone in China wants to go to the Beijing Olympics.

Via Xinhua

Passed this on the way home from work today… ignore the Disney ripoffs and focus on the clever beaded mascot keychains.

Saw this gem in Ritan Park. With all the campaigns to include English on tourist attractions, Beijing is full of these Chinglish curiosities. I’m a little curious about it, but I think I’ll pass on the garden of curled poo.

The new(ish) Beijing Visitor Blog offers frequent updates on upscale shopping, dining and lodging in the heart of Beijing. They list the attractions addresses in pinyin, which should make navigating a lot easier. You’ll want to get away from the crowds of tourists sometimes, and branch out on your own, but this blog is a good place to start planning your trip.

There are still 10 months away from the Beijing Olympics but prices of hotel rooms in Beijing are bound to shoot up during the Olympics period which is from 8th August to 24th August 2008. For instance, 5-star Sariz International Hotel “Olympic Room” costs 4200 yuan ($563) and 4-star Yuan Chen Xin International Hotel’s room sets you back for at least 3500 yuan ($469) a night during the Olympics period. Even 2 and 3-star hotels such as the Yi Hao Hotel will also increase its room prices to at least 1800 yuan ($241) per night.

Some hotels in Beijing only accept group bookings, some require visitors to stay during for the full 17-day period and a few even demand visitors to pay in full in advance. Currently, there’s no confirmation if domestic flight prices (from Beijing to Shanghai) will increase.

It’s advisable to book your Olympic room early to avoid disappointment.

Via 鍋囨棩鐨勫叡浜�绌洪棿

Service is of utmost importance in welcoming tourists and foreigners to Beijing next year. Here are the air stewardesses in training in a Beijing Vocational Training Institute. Most of the ladies are only 16 and 17-year-old. Basic etiquette to how to walk in style and dolling up are just some skills that are taught to better equip these flight attendants for the Beijing Olympic Games 2008.

Go, Sky Girls, Go!

More Pics

Watermelons are not round by default, they can come in many different shapes and sizes. These square watermelons are grown specially for the Beijing Olympic Games. Beijing 2008 logos, pictures and flags of countries such as China and South Korea can be printed on these tasty melons. Do you want to have a bite?

They look like Rubik’s Cube to me.

Via 鏋滄灉鎯�1BLOG

Air pollution remains a significant challenge for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, according to a United Nations environmental report released Thursday, but Beijing officials expressed confidence in handling the problem.

The independent appraisal follows a report this month by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) that about 120 billion yuan ($16 billion) had been spent on environment-related projects from 1998 to 2006.

Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said that funds for improving the environment “appear to have been well spent”.

Even with all the money spent on cleanup and the good work that’s been done, there’s no denying that Beijing’s skies are grey everyday. BOCOG has even proposed moving events around if the air quality is too poor for athletes to perform, although some people are doubtful if postposting an event from a dark-grey day to a light-grey day will really be beneficial. Other believe that the air problems will affect all non-Beijing athletes equally, so we won’t see any broken records in this upcoming Olympics.

Is the air pollution going to wreck havoc on the Olympics, or is it all a bunch of hype? Let us know!

Via China Daily

A Chinese man, Meng Jie (pictured above), used 2 months to design and mod a normal bicycle to a 5-Olympic-ring bike. He plans to cycle around China to promote the spirit of the Olympics.

Looks yummy to me.