Volunteers to keep visitors civilized
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In preparation for a fleet of activities to be held at the Olympic Green during the upcoming holidays, the managers of the park announced Monday at a press conference that they will recruit 60 volunteers to instruct tourists to treat public facilities with respect.
Damage to no less than 20 facilities in the Olympic Green could be seen everywhere two years after the games, especially to ground tiles, lights, public toilets, sculptures and light poles, ac-cording to the Legal Mirror last month. Some tourists sat on the lights, while others climbed sculptures for photos.
The imminent tourist influx has raised concerns about further damage. "It's true that some tourists did bad things to the sculptures and facilities in the park," said Tian Juqing, the standing vice director of the Beijing Olympic Park Administration Committee at the press conference.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, the Olympic Green will host a catering fair, launching tomorrow, with 65 catering suppliers from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, including many time-honored restaurants like Quanjude and Liubiju.
The China Open will also be held at the National Tennis Center north of the Olympic Green starting October 1.
Tourists to the Olympic Green can also visit the Global City International Circus, Dino Dino Dream Park, revolutionary-themed music performances, a presentation of how the structural integrity of the Bird's Nest is tested and ballet at the Water Cube.
"The Olympic Green will probably attract 200,000 visitors during the Mid- Autumn Festival and 300,000 during the National Day holidays on the peak days," said Tian. During the National Day holiday in 2008, the park attracted 520,000 visitors during the peak day, and 420,000 in 2009.
The municipal and Chaoyang district governments paid more than 600 million yuan ($89.35 million) to maintain the Olympic Green last year, not including the Bird's Nest, Water Cube or National Indoor Stadium, the Beijing Times reported.
A great deal of litter was found throughout, including in the river, grasslands and at the entrance of the Olympic Green subway station. "The garbage at the entrance of the subway is the responsibility of the subway company, but the garbage in the grass belongs to the greening department," a cleaner surnamed Wang at the square told the Global Times Monday. But a subway staff member surnamed Liu denied the garbage was in their charge.
Tian told the media Monday that broken facilities were already repaired, and that university-recruited volunteers would be on hand to monitor tourists' bad behavior during this year's holidays.
