China set for Asian Games extravaganza

China's booming southern metropolis of Guangzhou is gearing up for next month's Asian Games -- the biggest sporting extravaganza the nation has seen since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

After seven years of preparations, the city at the heart of China's economic miracle has reinvented itself for the November 12-27 spectacle and is hoping the event will help transform it into one of Asia's elite cities.

The country's state media is stirring up excitement with regular updates on Team China, a day-by-day countdown on China Central Television and coverage of the nationwide Asiad torch relay.

Organisers are hoping that a successful Asiad -- the world's second-largest sporting event after the Olympics -- will pave the way for an eventual Summer Games bid.

"In my personal opinion, in 10 years time, Guangzhou may have the opportunity to bid for the Olympic Games," Gu Shiyang, vice secretary general of the Guangzhou Organising Committee for the Asian Games, told AFP.

"In 10 or 20 years time, it (will be) time for China to have the Olympic Games again."

More than 14,000 athletes and officials from 45 countries and regions will attend Asiad, competing for 476 gold medals in Guangzhou, which sits in the Pearl River Delta, the hub of China's export-oriented "workshop of the world".

Just as Beijing did before the 2008 Olympics, Guangzhou has poured billions of dollars into infrastructure projects -- a new rail station, a gleaming trade centre, subway lines, housing projects, highways and bridges.

The opening ceremony will be held in a new amphitheatre built on an island in the Pearl River and nestled beneath the towering skyscrapers of the newly renovated waterfront business district.

Construction on 58 renovated sports venues and 12 new facilities were finished by the end of September, when crews moved in and began testing equipment and going through Games rehearsals, organisers said.

But not all has gone smoothly during the run-up in a city of more than 10 million people located about 140 kilometres (85 miles) northwest of Hong Kong.

Officials admit preparations were fraught with snags, including massive traffic jams during construction and the eviction of numerous unhappy residents to make room for new building projects.

"In the course of construction, of course there was a series of problems," Pan Guolong, an official in charge of venue construction, told AFP.

"During the process, we went through some difficulties and inconveniences, but we have made a better city for the people."

Earlier this month, nearly 4,000 people attended a meeting hosted by Guangzhou's top Communist Party officials to complain about alleged injustices in the run-up, the Global Times reported.

Hundreds of the petitioners camped out the night before the Monday meeting in an effort to confront the leaders with their grievances, and so many people attended that it ran 2.5 hours longer than planned, the paper said.

Some residents have also complained that the money poured into the Games could have been better spent on social welfare programmes.

The city had a close call with the recent super Typhoon Megi, with organisers battening down the hatches at many venues, but the storm veered to the north, making landfall in neighbouring Fujian province instead.

On November 1, the city will start evicting beggars from the streets, while anyone hoping to buy a kitchen knife or other large cutting tools will have to visit designated shops and show identification, according to state media.

"Security is our top concern and our top responsibility for the success of the Games," Gu said.

"We are fully aware of the threats from outside the country and also the risks within the city or within the territory. We have made great efforts to make our city safe, to make our Games safe."

To relieve the city's notorious traffic congestion, restrictions will be implemented from November 1 to get half of the nearly two million registered vehicles off the roads during the event, officials said.

The government is also seeking to ensure that unlike at the recent Commonwealth Games in India, stands will be full of spectators, with tickets being given away to students, enterprises and government institutions.

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