(BEIJING, December 18) -- At the beginning of 2007, BOCOG President Liu Qi called this year "the decisive year of battle," as this would be a year of challenges for the preparation work for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. But by now, most people have had a preview of the attractive, high-tech venues, the unparalleled torch relay, the opening ceremony with a unique Chinese flair, the well-organized events and the high quality volunteers, among other areas. The Beijing Olympic Games has built up strength throughout the year.

The venues for the Beijing Olympic Games are being delivered one after another. At the end of this year, all the newly built or renovated venues, except for the National Stadium, will be complete. Foreign experts have lauded the venues, saying that Beijing is a model for the world in many respects, including environmental protection and new energy and high-tech usage. Moreover, aside from the National Aquatics Center, the newly built competition venues have all held Good Luck Beijing sport events this year for a comprehensive test before the Olympic Games.

The Olympic Flame for Beijing 2008 will be carried across the world on the "lucky clouds" of the Beijing Olympic Torch. The relay will last 130 days, passing through more than 130 cities on the Silk Road-based route and travel 137,000 kilometers -- the longest distance the Olympic Flame will travel yet. One of the highlights of this relay will be the ascent of the Olympic Flame to the highest peak in the world, Mt. Qomolangma (Everest). There will be more than 21, 000 torchbearers around the world participating in the relay -- setting another record in Olympic history. A test in May this year on Mt. Qomolangma achieved the expected results in terms of ignition and TV coverage.

The creative work for the Beijing Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, whose theme combines the Chinese civilization with the world, is basically complete. The task team, comprising well-known domestic and foreign directors, artists and experts, has carried on training, technical production and rehearsal work to prepare a feast for the eyes.

To test the preparation work, Beijing has held 26 Good Luck Beijing sport events, including eight top-level international events. Through these sport events, several thousand athletes, sports officials and media examined, with "real swords and spears," the quality of the Olympic venues in terms of hardware facilities, technical systems, management teams, and command system, as well as volunteer services and city operations, providing the most powerful reference for the Beijing Olympic Games.

The smile of the volunteer has been an excellent "name card" for Beijing. The Olympic Games volunteer smile wristband officially launched on New Year's Day and caused a surge in volunteer registration. Beginning last March, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots as well as overseas Chinese and foreigners could enroll as volunteers, indicating the official start of global volunteer recruitment. Through December 4, the volume of Olympic volunteer applications had reached 760,000, and the city volunteer application pool had surpassed 830,000.

The medals for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games were designed with inspiration from Golden Inlaid Jade, conveying a strong Chinese flair, and break the dominance of metal material in Olympic medal design. The jade-inscribed medals of the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympics Games, made of gold and jade, symbolize nobility and virtue and are the embodiment of the traditional Chinese values of ethics and honor, indicating the Chinese people's admiration for the Olympic spirit and praise for the athletes.

The three-stage global pre-sales period for more than seven million tickets for the Beijing Olympic Games has begun, making Beijing Gehua Ticketmaster Ticketing Co., Ltd, the exclusive ticketing service provider of the Beijing Olympic Games. The number of people who have shown interest in buying tickets so early is unprecedented.

On August 8, when the one-year countdown celebration was held at Tiananmen Square, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge, sent out invitations to the various national and regional Olympic committees. The number of Olympic committees invited hit a new record.

In the year of decisive battle, the preparation work of the Beijing Olympic Games has brought lots of pleasant surprises to the world. Millions of people shared the Olympic culture; the sponsorship plan of the Beijing Olympic Games completed smoothly; one-stop media service was implemented; Fuwa delivered good luck to the whole world. People all around the world are watching China and Beijing expectantly as 2008 approaches.