21. Venues on fengshui

Beijing wished for its Olympic venues to be an expansion of its history and culture, both of which are firmly set on the spine of the city, a 7.7 km axis line running right through the emperor's seat at the Forbidden City, the middle of Tian'anmen Square, the Drum and Bell towers and Yongdingmen.

The north-south axis was believed to bring eternal stability, prompting designers of the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube to position them on either side of it.

In doing so, they have integrated modern ideas with the deep-rooted spirit of the Middle Kingdom.

22. Record number of sponsors, revenue

Since launching the Beijing 2008 Olympic Marketing Plan in September 2003, a total of 63 enterprises have become sponsors of the Beijing Games, including 12 worldwide Olympic partners.

BOCOG's deal with sports equipment supplier adidas covers 18 sports, and more than 6,000 officially licensed Olympic products have hit the market.

23. Largest ever team from China

China will field its largest Olympic team to date when about 570 athletes contest 28 sports in Beijing.

24. Lowest ticket prices

Taking into account China's average purchasing power, BOCOG ensured a low-price policy for Beijing Olympic and Paralympic tickets.

Opening ceremony prices were capped at 5,000 yuan ($641) per head, while the lowest price to a sports competition was 30 yuan ($4).

Closing ceremony tickets ranged from 150-3,000 yuan ($19-385), preliminary competition tickets from 30-300 yuan ($4-39) and tickets to the finals cost between 60 and 1,000 yuan ($8-128).

BOCOG also reserved about 14 percent of all domestically sold tickets for students at the handsome price of 5 yuan ($0.6) and 10 yuan ($1.2) for preliminaries and finals respectively.

25. Highest number of foreign coaches

In striving for excellence, various Chinese national teams have invited foreign coaches to guide them.

More than 30 foreign coaches are currently working with the Chinese Olympic team.

Many among them, such as men's basketball coach Jonas Kazlauskas (right) from Lithuania and synchronized swimming head coach Masayo Imura from Japan, are expected to lead the home outfits to their peak performances.

26. Number of China-born athletes representing other federations

A group of Chinese-born athletes representing other countries or regions will be an important force in Beijing.

Led by former badminton national team member Zhou Mi and Wang Chen, who represent Hong Kong, and table tennis player Li Jiawei of Singapore, they will pose formidable challenges to their Chinese rivals.

27. Number of Chinese coaches in other countries and regions

A number of Chinese coaches will lead foreign teams on home soil, such as women's volleyball legend Lang Ping (right), who will lead the US women's team.

Meanwhile, former coach of the Chinese badminton team Li Mao will lead the South Korean team.

28. Medals of jade

Olympic medals are for the first time made of metal and jade. The medals were inlaid with Kunlun jade from China's Qinghai province in a symbol of "respect" and "virtue" in the Chinese tradition.

29. Wushu

People who love Chinese martial arts must not miss the Beijing 2008 Wushu Tournament to be held on the sidelines of the Beijing Olympic Games from Aug 21 to 24 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium.

About 128 athletes from 43 countries and regions will contest. Approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Chinese martial arts competition will feature 15 events, including 10 in Taolu (the routines) and five for Sanshou (fights).

Although not a medal sport, the tournament will be an important showcase and springboard for wushu's wish to join the Olympic family.

30. Significance of 08-08-08

It is no coincidence that the Beijing Games begins at 8 pm on the 8th day of the 8th month of '08.

The number 8 has special significance to the Chinese, because 8 in Chinese is pronounced "ba", which sounds a lot like "fa", which means prosperity or wealth, as in "", which means to become rich.

In Chinese culture, 8 also denotes the number of immortals and structure of trigrams, both of which are linked to auspicious ideas.

Also, when two digits of the number 8 are placed together - "88" - they resemble the stylized form of two Chinese ""characters, hence representing double happiness, a popular motif and design usually pasted upon the doors of newly married Chinese couples.

The number 8 is highly favored among the Chinese for its connotations of good luck, fortune and longevity.
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