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Beijing Prepares for Olympic Games

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• July 23: Chinese paramilitary police work on a banner which reads 'Safety and Protection Oath Taking' in front of National Stadium, known as Bird's Nest at the Olympic Green in Beijing.
• July 24: A Chinese man decorates his vehicle with Olympic motifs to promote the Olympic spirit outside of the Olympic Green in Beijing. The Olympic summer games are due to start Aug. 8.
• July 24: A local man stands near official mascot dolls of Beijing Olympics, Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini, on sale at a store in Shanghai, China. Shanghai will host nine men's soccer matches and three women's matches, and more than 440,000 tickets have been sold so far, Vice Mayor Zhao Wen told the state-run Xinhua News Agency in a report.
• July 24: A police officer controls the crowd as they line up for Olympic tickets near the Olympic Green in Beijing. Thousands waited on line Thursday on lawn chairs, under tents or on bamboo mats for the last batch of Olympic tickets that go on sale Friday morning.
• July 24: Shi Chaglin, who painted his body with Olympic motifs and shaved his head in the shape of the Olympic rings to promote the Olympic spirit, points to his own countdown calendar to the summer games, outside of the Olympic Green in Beijing.
• July 22: A hotel bell boy helps a guest carry the luggages into the Fuhao hotel in Beijing, China. Some hotels in Beijing are cutting their rates by as much as 30 percent because expected high demand for the Olympic Games has not materialized, a travel agent said. Tian Ye, the manager of sales department of Fuhao Hotel, a three-star hotel in the central shopping district of Wangfujing, minutes from Tiananmen Square, said it cut its rates last month by about 20 percent.
• July 22: Chinese paramilitary soldiers rehearse an oath taking ceremony near the Bird's Nest National Stadium at the Olympic Green in Beijing.
• July 22: Chinese paramilitary soldiers near the Bird's Nest National Stadium in Beijing.
• July 22: The new high-speed train linking Beijing and Tianjin, where Olympic soccer matches will be played, is scheduled to open on Aug 1. The train will cut the travel time between the two Olympic cities from 1 hour, 10 minutes to 25-30 minutes.
• July 22: Chinese men move props to be used in either the opening or closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing. Rehearsals for the ceremonies of the summer Olympic Games in Beijing are underway in a shroud of secrecy.
• July 18: A young boy does chin-ups on a bar during gymnastics training at a sports training center in Beijing. The training center coaches children from the age of five and often help identify talented children who can be selected for sports schools aimed at turning them into world-class athletes.
• July 21: An Olympic lane marker is seen from a car in Beijing. Millions of Beijing commuters kept their cars parked and took public transportation on Monday, the first workday under new restrictions keeping half of the vehicles in this smog-choked city off the streets before the Olympics.
• July 21: Cars drive on Beijing's Second Ring Road under hazy skies. Morning haze hung over Beijing on Monday, the first workday for restrictions on car use under a bold plan to clear the Olympic city of its notorious smog-choked skies.
• July 21: Cars drive on Beijing's Second Ring Road under hazy skies. Morning haze hung over Beijing on Monday, the first workday for restrictions on car use under a bold plan to clear the Olympic city of its notorious smog-choked skies.
• July 21: Commuters crowd a subway train in Beijing. Many commuters switched to the subway on Monday, the first workday for restrictions on car use under a bold plan to clear the Olympic city of its notorious smog-choked skies.
• July 21: Commuters crowd a train at a subway station in Beijing. Many commuters switched to the subway on Monday, the first workday for restrictions on car use under a bold plan to clear the Olympic city of its notorious smog-choked skies.
• July 20: A Chinese boy rides aboard the newly opened line 10 of the Beijing subway, that takes passengers towards the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's nest in Beijing , China. The new subway lines and airport rail link should bring relief to the congested Beijing streets, as the city pushes to control traffic in order to clear the capital's pollution choked skies in time for the Aug. 8 Olympics.
• July 20: A policeman monitors the traffic in Beijing, China. Beijing started its traffic control plan Sunday in a last minutes push to clear the capital's pollution-choked skies in time for the August Olympics.
• July 20; An electronic billboard display, top, shows the information about the traffic control period on a city highway in Beijing, China. Beijing started its traffic control plan Sunday in a last minutes push to clear the capital's pollution-choked skies in time for the August Olympics.
• July 20: A traffic policeman checks a van driver while monitoring vehicles in Beijing, China. Beijing started its traffic control plan Sunday in a last minutes push to clear the capital's pollution-choked skies in time for the August Olympics.
• July 19: Chinese residents wait in line outside the entrance of a subway line linking the city to the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China. Three new subway lines were opened Saturday allowing passengers arrive at the airport to reach the Olympic Green by train for the first time.