With an investment of 830 million yuan (US$100 million), the National Swimming Centre is expected to begin construction by the end of this year, together with the National Stadium, the Beijing Shooting Gymnasium and the Laoshan Bicycle Gymnasium.

The construction of the Olympic venues will be finished by 2006, with trial operations of the facilities underway in 2007.

Officials with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) vowed that the Olympic facilities not only will be globally considered top-notch on a professional level, but also could become the defining architecture of the new century in Beijing, leaving behind a unique legacy for future generations.

Although construction has yet to start, questions have already been raised as to how to make the best use of these new sports facilities after the Games.

Thirty-five gymnasiums and stadiums will be put into use during the Olympics, locating mainly in Beijing. The facilities outside Beijing to be used are in Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, and Qinhuangdao in North China's Hebei Province - where the preliminaries of soccer will be held - and in Qingdao in East China's Shandong Province where the sailing boat races will be held.

Currently, the overall layout of the Olympic Green and the Wukesong Cultural and Sports Centre have been authorized by the municipal government.

In answering queries about the use of the sports venues after the Games, officials with the BOCOG said that the facilities will be turned into multi-purpose facilities to provide public recreation, sports and fitness services.

(China Daily 07/12/2003 page5)