Good services also key to the success of Games

Beijing started the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympics in the wee hours of yesterday by sending invitations to every corner of the world.

As a Beijinger, the changes taking place in my neighborhood, which is no more than a couple kilometers from the Olympic Stadium, mirrors the hard work the city has been doing to get itself ready. Signs directing visitors to hotels and Games sites have been erected at important exits of expressways and street intersections.

A six-lane thoroughfare is almost open right outside the residential compound where I live, reducing the years' long traffic congestion in the area. Trees and brushes are being planted to help reduce the effect of CO2 emissions.