KEY POINTS:
China has the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and many other wonders. But come August, Beijing Olympics organisers are planning to at least equal them in one of the greatest sporting events the world has seen.
On the evidence of a flying visit before Christmas, the thousands of athletes and visitors who will crowd into an already bulging Beijing for the Games will not be disappointed.
Opening day, August 8 is an auspicious date according to Chinese astrology and likely to bring luck. But organisers are leaving very little to chance in their first crack at the world's biggest and most prestigious sporting event.
This year is the year of the rat, considered in Chinese folklore to be a harbinger and protector of prosperity. Everywhere in Beijing, which has been virtually a building site since the city got the hosting rights for the Games, that prosperity is there for the world to see.
The bamboo curtain has been yanked back to reveal a city undergoing a revolution but still steadfastly clinging to its culture steeped in its many dynasties.
Most of the cranes are gone now, replaced by modern skyscrapers in projects so large they caused a five-year world-wide steel shortage as much of the rebuilding of the city, its infrastructure and games stadiums took shape.
And while the city planners, engineers and hundreds of thousands of workers have been toiling with picks and shovels in extreme summer heat and sub-zero conditions in winter to meet completion targets or even better them, the Chinese sports machine has been quietly gearing up behind the scenes.
Many tip China to top the medal count. It would not surprise if they do. You get the feeling the country's leaders expect it, nay demand it.
Already we've seen Chinese rowers at the forefront last year in a sport they traditionally have not excelled in. Expect more of the same in Beijing, not just from rowing but across all sports.
At the Athens Olympics four years ago, superpower the United States won 103 medals, 35 of them gold. China pushed them all the way to finish just three medals behind in the gold tally. Their total of 63 may have been way behind Russia's 91 but the Russians could manage only 27 golds.
Just as the Chinese economy has been growing exponentially, so are its medal ambitions for Beijing. And long-term, such is the commitment for sporting excellence that success in Beijing is likely to set the stage for dominance in London in 2012.
This drive began in the schools with huge programmes supported by the Government involving 400 million children throughout China.
The centrepiece of this audacious bid for world glory will be the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest as it is commonly known.
Sited in the 1135ha Olympic Green, the 91,000 seat stadium, which will be the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies, track and field and the soccer final, is a writhing mass of steel interwoven in the shape of a bird's nest - a delicacy in Chinese cuisine.
Organisers expect the unusual stadium to become an iconic feature of the games. After the Olympics, the seating will be scaled back to around 80,000 and it will be used for sporting and cultural events.
The other unusual stadium in the Olympic Park is the US$100 million ($130 million) national aquatics centre. Shaped like a cube, it takes on the appearance of being filled with water and was paid for by donations from Chinese living abroad.
Other facilities in the Olympic Green include the national indoor stadium, the venue for gymnastics, trampolining and hand ball and the biggest indoor stadium in China, the hockey field, archery field, tennis centre and Olympic village, all within walking distance of each other.
The Olympic village, which will house around 16,000 athletes and is just 3km from the National Stadium, comprises 42 six- and nine-storey buildings.
After the Paralympic Games, the 66ha complex will be handed over to the Beijing residents who have pre-bought the apartments.
Organisers claim to have difficulty understanding the Western meaning of the saying "white elephant" but it is evident that a lot of thought has been given to avoiding just that.
Many of the facilities, such as the archery and hockey stadiums, have been built of steel and once the Games are over they will be dismantled and the steel recycled. For some that may not come soon enough as they are already showing signs of distress.
The tennis complex, with 10 competition courts and six training courts, however has been built of concrete and there are hopes that major tour events will be held there. Centre court is an impressive facility shaped like a flower with opening petals and can seat 12,000 people.
After the games, like most of the facilities, the courts will be turned over for public use.
Some stadiums have been sited at universities so their on-going use will be guaranteed. The new table tennis facility at Peking University, which will seat up to 8000 people, is a good example.
BY THE NUMBERS
* Total bill $2.15 billion.
* 100,000 volunteers.
* 22,000 accredited media.
* Ticket prices around $17.
* 37 venues.
* 56 training venues.
* 12 new stadiums.
* 196 factories closed to reduce pollution.
* 163 plants relocated.
* 67 per cent blue sky days.
* 4500 planned drug tests.
Chris Allen travelled to Beijing courtesy of the Beijing Olympic Games Organising Committee.
