With the countdown to China's first-ever Olympic Games now well underway, the launch of a massive scheme to dramatically upgrade some of Beijing s top tourism treasures has hit the ground running.

Unprecedented in scale and ambition, the scheme, being overseen by Beijing Cultural Relics Bureau, involves simultaneous maintenance work on Beijings six World Cultural Heritage Sites.

These include world-famous symbols of the city such as the Beijing section of the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven and the Ming Tombs.

And as with the hosting of the world s biggest sporting spectacle, Chinas capital is again making history. For this is the first time that maintenance work has been carried out on all six sites at the same time. The restoration work started now will run right up until 2008.

The Beijing section of the Great Wall runs to some 600km. Simatai, Gubeikou and other sections popular with tourists will get priority. The Forbidden City improvements will continue into this year. At Zhoukoudian, experts are concentrating on protecting the relics and preventing natural decay.

The work at the Summer Palace will focus on the Cloud Dispelling Hall and the Long Corridor. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the main structure of the Temple of Heaven, is slated for a meticulous upgrade with particular attention paid to some its finer details. The roof, the floor and the décor will be carefully improved. Of the 13 Ming tombs, those not yet restored will be repaired one by one.

Beijing This Month will update readers on the maintenance work on the six heritage sites each issue with interviews with those helping to make it all happen. As always, reader feedback is greatly appreciated.

Beijing Olympic Action Plan -Social Environment Development

Cultural Environment Development

Culture has always constituted an important part of the modern Olympic Movement. During the Beijing Olympic Games, efforts will be made to fully exhibit the achievements of traditional Chinese culture, and the rich cultural heritage of Beijing in the hope that the Olympic spirit can be further carried forward on this unique occasion of East-West exchange.

Protecting and displaying the historical and cultural heritage of the city.

Special attention will be given to the protection of the royal city and the historical buildings situated along the ancient city axis and within the 25 historical and cultural protection areas, the protected major historical and cultural sites, the ancient urban water systems and the layout of the ancient city.

To showcase the features of the ancient capital, the ancient buildings in the areas along the axis line, the old royal city, the Chao-Fu road, the Imperial College and Shichahai area will be renovated.

Some historical relics, such as the former imperial gardens of Yuanmingyuan and the city wall built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) will be restored. World heritages including the Great Wall and Forbidden City will be placed on the top of the protection list. In the renovation of the old city, the quadrangles (siheyuan), which bear the features of the old city, will be carefully dealt with and protected in different ways. Records concerning the origin, connotations, and incidents relating to the historical places will be inscribed in relevant areas where possible.