Two years after the Beijing Olympiad, the Olympic Green is already showing signs of wear and tear.

In some areas near the Olympic Sports Center the floor tiles are broken or missing, the wall tiles of the five public toilets have dropped off in places, dozens of lamps in the shape of Bird's Nest are stuffed with rubbish, and many lamp posts inside the park are wrapped with kite strings.

The increasing number of visitors and their lack of care when using the park are the main reasons for the deterioration of the facilities, a staff member from the Beijing Olympic Park Administration Committee, told Mirror Evening News on Tuesday, adding that maintaining the facilities is the responsibility of each property owner.

The number of visitors to the park increased sharply this summer, with on average 200,000 visiting on weekdays and 300,000 on weekends.

The committee intends to draw up detailed maintenance plans and put them into effect once approval is forthcoming from the appropriate authorities.

The maintenance fee of the park (not including that of Bird's Nest, Water Cube and National Indoor Stadium) exceeded 600 million yuan last year, said Wang Chun, head of the committee and deputy chief of Chaoyang district, at the Beijing Olympic Park cultural development forum. Of this, about 200 million yuan is used for staff salaries and the greening of the forest park.

Wei Xiao'an, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, proposed that Beijing should apply for the Olympic Park to be listed as a world heritage site.

Wu Lin, a local resident in his 50s, who takes a walk inside the Olympic Green every evening, said the situation is understandable considering the park's size and the fact that it has no gates.

"But I don't think administration from the management committee would work, or not for long, at least," he said.

He suggested setting signs and LED screens inside the park, with messages asking people to pay attention to the environment.

"Also, trying to convince people to speak out when they see uncivil behavior might be a good way to solve the problem," Wu said.

The Olympic Park was put into use in 2008 for the 29th Olympic Games. It covers an area of 1,135 hectares, including world-renowned architecture, such as the Bird's Nest, the Water Cube, the National Indoor Stadium, and Olympic Forest Park.