Beijing (北京), the capital of China and the venue for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, reminds me of a Chinese song every time. Not an Olympic song about Beijing but is an old song (I heard it during my high school days) called 北京一夜 (One Night in Beijing) by Chen Sheng （陈升）and Liu Jia Hui （刘佳慧）.

Here’s the very original version of “One Night in Beijing”

Of course, such a great song is sung and converted into many versions by many singers such as…

The Heavenly Queens & King, Faye Wong (王菲), Na Ying (那英) and Jeff Chang (张信哲).

The rock version by Taiwanese band, Shin (信乐团).

Last but not least, my personal favourite by Aya Matsuura (松浦 亜弥), a Hello! Project member (former Morning Musume).

Celia at IfGoGo.com has translated the Chinese lyrics into English:

迎接另一个晨曦 带来全新空气 （正阳门箭楼）
Greet the first sun raying in the morning, feel the fresh air coming with it.

气息改变情味不变 茶香飘满情谊 （国家体育场“鸟巢”）
Friendship persists with the change of flavor. Fragrance of the tea transmits our affection

我家大门常打开 开放怀抱等你 （德胜门箭楼）.
The Chinese door is always open, we open arms and wait for you

Head over to IfGoGo.com to read the rest of the lyrics.

Via IfGoGo — Chinese In English.

Your friendly soft drink, Coca-Cola, or affectionately known as Coke, is getting all out to woo the 1.3 billion Chinese population in this year Beijing Olympics. It is believed that Coke has spent US$75 million on the Games to boost sales and build long-term loyalty in China.

“The Olympics goes beyond sport,” said Kevin Tressler, Coca-Cola’s director of worldwide sports and entertainment marketing.

“There’s a warm feeling that comes to people when they think about the Olympics.”

Coke’s red marketing strategy aligns with the national colour of China. Good move!

Image: The Searcher | Via Sydney Morning Herald

Looks like Beijing’s gorgeous new Terminal 3 will be pretty quiet on August 8!

Airlines are being told to stay away from Beijing’s airport during the opening ceremony of the Olympics and further scrutiny is being applied to foreign entertainers in the latest security moves ahead of next month’s games.

No official announcement has been made, but local media and airlines said Friday that the Beijing airport will close for about four hours during the opening ceremony, affecting dozens of flights.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific said it would postpone one flight after receiving word from Chinese authorities recently that the airport would be closed during the opening ceremony, set to begin at the auspicious time of 8 p.m. on Aug. 8.

“We are being informed that the Beijing International Airport will be closed from 7 p.m. to midnight,” Cathay Pacific spokeswoman Carolyn Leung said in Hong Kong.

An unnamed spokesman from Beijing Capital Airport denied these reports, though, and insists that all flights into Beijing will be welcomed.

Via China to halt flights for Olympic launch - CNN.com

Here’s a tour of the Olympics press center! It’s very modern and impressive, but I do hope the press covering the Olympics will be spending more time outside the center and visiting real Beijing. The video also just briefly mentions the difficulties that freelance journalists are having getting into Beijing.

Olympics reporter Sonali has a list of the Olympics’ superlatives… from the busiest athlete:

Taormina will be the busiest athlete!

She’s going to be the first woman ever to compete in three Olympics in three different sports.
The American won a gold medal in swimming in 1996 and competed in the triathlon at the Athens games in 2004.
This time in Beijing she’ll be running in the modern pentathlon, which is made up of five different events.

… the weirdest Olympic event:

Weirdest

And the weirdest event ever to be held at the Olympics has got to be poodle-clipping.

It only featured in one Games in Paris in 1900. A farmer’s wife won the gold medal.

She managed to trim 17 poodles in just two hours!

Via CBBC Newsround Sport Sonali’s weird Olympics facts

Foreign students studying in Beijing are ready to start volunteering for the Olympic Games from 25th July.

“The Beijing Olympics is a dream for all Chinese people, and although I’m a foreigner, I wanted to share that dream, so I choose to be a volunteer,” said Volkan Gurcan, a 25-year-old international trade Turkish student at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

One world, one dream spirit indeed.

Via China Daily

Trevor Graham, former ace athletics coach, is banned for life for coaching or partcipating in any athletic event. Reason? He has doped many of his athletes before.

The former trainer of disgraced sprinters Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin, Graham is banned from coaching or participating in any competition or activity organised by the U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Track & Field, the International Association of Athletics Federations and other world-wide bodies.

Via Yahoo Sport

As the Beijing Olympics is drawing near, scammers out there are also trying their very best to get your personal info (credit card details etc), money and attention. A Beijing Olympics Lottery winning notification in your mailbox may just be, ya you know…a scam.

Via Trend Micro

I believe every athlete is gearing up for the 22-day away Beijing Olympics. Just like any other Olympic partcipant, the Bird Nest is also “practising” by having a fireworks rehearsal for the opening ceremony last night, 16th July 2008.

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