A skiing court in Urumqi made a set of snow embossment themed in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on December 15, 2007, including the embossment of Fuwa, the mascots of the Games.

Those Fuwa are everywhere!

Via Chinanews.cn

A survey has found more than 44 percent of Taiwan residents are unaware of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and don’t know much about the Chinese mainland.

The survey, conducted by the Taiwan-based magazine “Global Views”, showed that the 44 percent of residents surveyed don’t know that “the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be held in Beijing”.

I’m not sure if they asked the question in some kind of tricky way, but wow, almost half aren’t aware of the Olympics in Beijing?

Don’t worry, BOCOG. 144% of Beijingers are aware.

Via China.Org.Cn

Midnight revelers will have a wider choice of public transport during the 2008 Olympic Games as Beijing is to launch special bus routes and add seven routes to the 24-hour bus network.

Thirty-four bus routes would be arranged to relieve possible transport pressure around venues and tourist sites during the Games, said Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Transportation Commission, on Thursday.

The article says there are currently 12 all-night bus routes, but the buses I take seem to stop running at 9 or 10. It’s not hard to catch a taxi home when the buses have stopped, but then again, I’m not competing with thousands of other Olympics visitors for that taxi.

Via Xinhua

Oh, those cut-throat ping-pong players!

Chinese paddlers will try to underline their ping-pong domination and gain a psychological edge over their main rivals ahead of the Beijing Olympics in two year-end tournaments beginning this weekend in Beijing.

The annual ITTF Pro Tour Finals, which have seen 11 editions since 1996, will run from December 13-16 at the newly built Olympic venue, Peking University Gymnasium, the world’s first gymnasium specifically designed for table tennis.

The event features the top 16 singles and top 8 doubles men’s and women’s paddlers based on the results of 17 Pro Tour stops throughout the year.

Tomorrow will see a duel between China’s Wang Hao and South Korea’s Rye Seung-min, a rematch of the men’s singles finals at the 2004 Athens Games and 2007 World Cup.

Wang, currently the world No 2, lost the Olympic crown to the South Korean in a five-set thriller in Athens. But in October this year, the 24-year-old Chinese young gun avenged his Olympic loss by whitewashing Rye at the Liebherr Men’s World Cup in Barcelona, Spain.

“I am not very surprised with the draw results. We are very familiar with each other’s playing styles, but I have to prepare for a hard battle tomorrow,” said Wang after the draw ceremony yesterday.

“I really want to claim the championship at the Olympic venue before the 2008 Games.”

Via Xinhua

BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) — Foreign athletes famished for Chinese food may find their appetites are not satisfied in the Olympic Village during next year’s Games, according to a menu distributed by the organizer.

“Asian-style food including Chinese, Japanese and Korean dishes would together account for 30 percent of the menu designed for athletes in the Olympic Village,” said Xiang Ping, deputy director in charge of the Games Service Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG).

She said that a preliminary menu had been drawn up and sent for expert appraisal, with results expected next month. “Western food will comprise most of the menu,” she said.

Presumably the “foriegn athletes famished for Chinese food” will be able to find some other source of Chinese food while in Beijing. I’ve heard there’s a lot of it, if you know where to look.

Via Xinhua

The Fuwa have their own webpage, which has this to say about JingJing:

Jingjing makes children smile — and that’s why he brings the blessing of happiness wherever he goes. You can see his joy in the charming naivety of his dancing pose and the lovely wave of his black and white fur. As a national treasure and a protected species, pandas are adored by people everywhere. The lotus designs in Jingjing’s headdress, which are inspired by the porcelain paintings of the Song Dynasty (A.D.960-1234), symbolize the lush forest and the harmonious relationship between man and nature. Jingjing was chosen to represent our desire to protect nature’s gifts — and to preserve the beauty of nature for all generations. Jingjing is charmingly naïve and optimistic. He is an athlete noted for strength who represents the black Olympic ring.

Sure, they say great things about JingJing, but I always see him starting trouble with the other Fuwa!

Xiong Xiancai is headed to jail after he pretended to be an Olympics official and took money, claiming he could get seats to the opening ceremonies.

Xiong Xiancai, a 24-year-old unemployed man from China’s eastern province of Zhejiang, told a woman surnamed Chen he was an employee of the “marketing strategy department” of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), the Beijing News said on Friday.

Xiong took 52,800 yuan from Chen “in the name of buying opening ceremony tickets to the 29th Olympiad”, the paper said.

Xiong was sentenced to three years in jail for his crimes, and was fined 3,000 yuan. The courts say this was a lenient punishment, due to Xiong’s voluntary admission of guilt.

Via The Guardian

Quick note to remind you that the next phase of Olympic ticket sales begins today in China. Any bets on how it’ll go? Perfectly smooth or another disaster?

The Olympic medals will be presented by hot Chinese girls.

“We have certain requirements for their height, since they are to present the medals to our athletes,” said Zhao Dongming, director of the Cultural Activities Department at Beijing’s Organizing Committee for the Games. “They need to be of a height between 1.68 (5-foot-6) and 1.78 meters (5-foot-10). That’s above average.”

“Generally speaking, they can’t be too fat,” Zhao added. “Their figure should be good. They shouldn’t be too heavy.”

Finalists have to be university students between 18 and 25 years old.

There’s already been a backlash, both from girls who don’t quite make the cut and from human right organizations who are angry over gender discrimation.

Via China Rises

A cute hand-drawn Fuwa on a sign at my local grocery store.