(BEIJING, October 11) -- Chinese engineers and workers have resolved many technological issues and have manufactured high-standard products to meet the requirements of the Olympic projects through their innovation and intellectual talent.

The 110,000 tons of steel for the construction of the National Stadium, including 42,000 tons of special steel for its skeleton, was made in China, said Ding Jianming, vice-chief engineer of the project.

"We did not use even one kilogram of foreign steel for the project," said Ding.

The main stadium of the Olympics is nicknamed the "Bird's Nest" because of its unique pattern.

Prior to the "Bird's Nest," China had never manufactured even a sliver of such high- intensity steel. To make up for the gap in experience, the contractor, Beijing Urban Construction Group, financed the research and custom-production of the Q460 plates.

The previous national standard for this type of steel was a 100 mm thickness, whereas the new product is 10 mm thicker. In addition, the new steel, a result of several technological breakthroughs, is capable of enduring earthquakes, low temperatures and is suitable for welding.

Water Cube creates number ones

With the National Aquatics Center, or the "Water Cube," state-of-the art material like ETFE, or ethylene-tetra-fluoro-ethylene, is being used for the first time in China. When completed, the project will have the world's most complicated and largest ETFE membrane structure.

The "Water Cube" will also be the world's biggest natatorium.

How to let the indoor heat out and let fresh air in was a difficult question facing the engineers of the "Water Cube," a colossal enclosed building with a seating capacity of 17,000. Taking advantage of natural ventilation, the designers set up eight air exhausters atop the roof and solved the problem.

One venue for two canoe events

At previous Olympic canoe competitions, the slalom and flatwater events were held in distant places because of the different current velocities required by the two events. For instance, the venues were 45 km apart at the Athens Summer Games. However, that caused inconvenience for the athletes.

When IOC officials saw the design of the water courses at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in northeast Beijing, they were amazed that the waters were located in the same area.

They learned later that this technique resulted from many experiments and calculations. Four pumps are used to draw water from a lake and send it to a pool six meters high, driving the velocity to 12-18 cubic meters per second in the slalom courses. The current then slows down to flow to the flatwater courses.

"The new technologies and standards will be part of the legacy of the Olympic projects and serve as reference for similar projects in the future," said vice chief-engineer Ye.