Olympic village softly opens
The Beijing Olympics athletes' village "softly" opened here on Sunday as the advance contingents of 12 national Olympic committees were expected to check in.
"The advance men from 12 national Olympic committees are scheduled to check in at the village today," Yin Lei, an organizing committee staff at the village's arrival and departure center, told Xinhua.
"We call it a soft opening," he said.
During the Aug. 8-24 Games, the village will be home to about 16, 000 athletes and officials. The 42-building complex in the north of the capital city also includes a hospital, a bank, shops, places of worship, restaurants, a swimming pool, and gyms.
Officially it will open to delegations on July 27, two weeks before the start of the Olympics.
After the Paralympics in September, the village will be housing for the public.
北京奥运会奥运村位于北京城南北中轴线的北端、北五环和北四环之间，北接奥林匹克森林公园，南邻国家体育场“鸟巢”，占地66公顷。全村分为居住区、国际区和运行区三个区。奥运村于2008年7月20日预开村，并将于7月27日正式开村，奥运会期间为来自世界各国和地区的16000名运动员及官员提供居住、生活、休闲和娱乐等服务。8月27日，奥运村将闭村。残奥会期间，奥运村转换为残奥村，于8月30日正式开村，9月20日闭村。
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北京 英语