The newly-constructed Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium.

On July 13, 2001 - the day the International Olympics Committee announced that Beijing would host the 2008 Games - Sun Guangfa, a carpenter in Shenyang, had a revelation.

"I should do something to express the great pride shared by common Chinese," he thought.

For the past seven years, Sun has devoted his woodworking skills to celebrating the Olympic spirit. He has carved over 100 figurines of athletes playing different Olympic sports. On Aug 8, 2007 - one year before the opening of the Beijing Olympics - a collection of his woodcarvings were shown in the city.

Sun's passion for the Olympics is not unusual in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province and a co-host of the 2008 Games.

Starting from August 6, two days before the Games' official opening in Beijing, the city will host 12 Olympic football preliminaries, including two matches of the Chinese team at the newly-constructed Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium.

The city, which is the fourth largest in China, has a reputation as a "lucky home" for Chinese football. It has hosted several international football events in recent years.

"Shenyang's 7.4 million people now have an Olympic complex, and they are very excited about the coming Beijing 2008 Olympic Games," says Wang Ling, deputy mayor of Shenyang.

A former professor of economics at Shenyang University, Wang now oversees the Shenyang Organizing Committee of Olympic Football Events.

Shenyang football fans cheer the Chinese women's team last July during the "Good Luck Beijing" International Women's Football Tournament. Liu Baocheng

With less that 50 days until the Games kick off, Wang's phone has lately been ringing off the hook. After a meeting about Olympic preparations with local officials, she granted an interview with China Daily, then dashed off to catch a flight to Beijing to attend another Olympic-related conference.

More than 60 local government departments in Shenyang are working together to prepare for the Olympic football events.

"It's good fortune for our generation to have the chance to host the Olympic Games, and we deeply cherish it," says Xu Xingjia, deputy director of Shenyang Sports Bureau.

"I am confident that Chinese football will thrive one day," Xu adds, "though it has stagnated for a long time."

Xu still remembers how thrilled he and his colleagues were when China's national football team beat Oman with a score of 1-0 in October 2001, becoming the first Chinese team to claim a place in the World Cup Finals of the Fdration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

The Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium was built with unparalleled speed and completed in 2007. Dubbed the "Crystal Crown," the multipurpose venue can seat 60,000 spectators. "It will be a great Olympic heritage to the city left by Beijing 2008 Olympic Games," proclaims Xu.

The stadium is the centerpiece of a new sporting complex that includes a 10,000-seat gymnasium, a 4,000-seat swim stadium and a 4,000-seat tennis field.

Shenyang spent over 1 billion million yuan to construct the city's Olympic Sports Center Stadium and related facilities. Xu expects these stadiums will find ample use after Games. "We hope that world-class football events will bring great pleasure to our citizens," he says.

"And meanwhile, Shenyang can show to the world that it is a vibrant and modern metropolis today."

In July and August last year, two test events, "Good Luck Beijing" International Women's Football Tournament and Four Nations Men's Tournament, were held in Shenyang.

More than 900 volunteers offered their services, and nearly 4,000 policemen were on duty during the events.

A four-member FIFA delegation led by FIFA tournament director Feng Malimeier Rumsfeld inspected Shenyang's Olympic facilities this April, and praised the city's extensive preparations.

Olympic fever has really caught on in the city, from grassroots artisans like Sun Guangfa to top government officials.

 Sun Guangfa, a carpenter in Shenyang, has carved more than 100 figurines of athletes over the past seven years. Photos by Zhang Wei

 (China Daily)