Real Madrid arrived in China on Friday to a raucous welcome amid heavy security.

The Spanish club, packed with multi-millionaire superstars headed by David Beckham, touched down at Kunming airport at 12.05pm (0405 GMT) and were treated to a traditional welcome ceremony from about 100 colourfully dressed and drum-banging members of Yunnan province's ethic minorities.

They will spend a week in Kunming, capital of south-western Yunnan, training before an exhibition match in Beijing and a loop through Asia.

Massive security has been thrown up for their stay.

'Leave your room while we check it'

At the Hongta sports centre, the training ground of the Chinese national team where Real will strut their stuff, an estimated 1,000 security guards have been deployed.

One officer said another 700 police are on duty.

"Security is very tight," he said.

This was reinforced as journalists arrived at hotels in the city over the past few days, with heavily armed police demanding room by room inspections with sniffer dogs.

"I'm a policeman. Please co-operate and leave your room while we check it," said one officer. "It's a security check."

All hotels in the town have been booked by Hongta, the Chinese tobacco company sponsoring the trip.

Thousands of Chinese journalists are expected to cover the event along with about 300 overseas reporters.

China is hoping the spectacle of so many high profile soccer players will help kick-start its tourism industry stalled by the SARS crisis that gripped that country earlier this year.

And they are taking no chances that the visit will be blighted.

Anti-terrorism exercises were carried out in Kunming on Thursday. More than 1,000 police and public security officials simulated an exercise where they rescue a bus load of people taken hostage by gunmen.

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