Not to be outdone by Beijing's hosting of an amazing Olympics last year, Guangzhou has pledged to make the 2010 Asian Games the best the world has ever seen.
"The Olympics last summer gave us a pretty good idea in terms of sports organisation and city infrastructure," said Xu Ruisheng, Vice Mayor of Guangzhou and Executive Deputy Secretary General of the Guangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (GAGOC).
"Preparations for the sporting gala, such as venue construction and traffic improvement, are in full swing."
He said authorities in the city, capital of Guangdong Province, have been working on a traffic adjustment scheme ahead of the event and will also be urging citizens to help improve traffic conditions.
"Besides the adjustment, we will speed up development of the road infrastructure," he added without elaborating.
A recent online poll by Dayoo.com showed almost 90 percent of respondents supported the odd-even license plate restrictions employed by Beijing during the Olympics last summer.
But Xu said: "We have not yet decided to introduce the restriction. If the air quality and traffic appear bad ahead of the Games, some restrictions plans may be introduced."
Like any Chinese metropolis, Guangzhou is plagued by traffic jams, and not just during rush hours. Officials hope the nine new subway lines now under construction will ease the congestion.
Around 80 percent of the 72 venues being built for the Games will also be connected to subways, said Xu.
To enhance the image of the Asiad, the organising committee has also unveiled its unique secondary marks, pictograms and core graphics.
"Beijing did well. People from around the world were deeply impressed with the secondary marks, pictograms and core graphics for the 2008 Olympics," said Li Naizhen, Director of the Secretariat of the Guangzhou Asian Para Games Organising Committee (GAPGOC).
Different from the main emblem and mascot, the secondary marks, pictograms and core graphics will be used to decorate Games venues and street signs, as well as to promote volunteer and cultural events.
The Beijing Olympics pictograms, entitled the "beauty of seal characters", contained strokes resembling ancient Chinese seal characters and combined the charm of inscriptions on ancient bone and bronze objects with modern athletic movement.
"They were great for the promotion of the Olympic Games and the host city," said Li.
The Guangzhou Asian Games will feature 42 sporting events, 14 of which are non-Olympic events, while five will make their Asiad debut.
Inspired by the historic gala's iconic flame, the 2010 pictograms have various practical functions and serve to promote the Games' vision and the host city's culture, said Li.
Sources within the GAGOC said it has recruited nearly 100 members of the Beijing Olympic Games Organising Committee to exploit their experience in preparing for a major sporting extravaganza.
It has also hired technical and media service staff from the Beijing Olympics Broadcasting Company to ensure a "better service" of coverage.
"It is impossible for us to invest as much in broadcasting as 2006 Asiad hosts Doha, but the team from Beijing will help ensure a better service next year since they have developed a good relationship with domestic and overseas broadcasters," said Ren Tianhua, Deputy Director of the GAGOC's Broadcasting and Media services Department.
(Source: GAGOC)
