 | | The gold medal for Beijing 2008 is inlaid with white jade. | |
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(ATR) Medals for the Beijing Olympics will be inlaid with the classic Chinese symbol of jade. The medals were unveiled in a ceremony in the Olympic City, part of celebrations marking 500 days to go to the Games.
"The medals represent Chinese and artistic characterisitics as well as the Olympic spirit," BOCOG Vice President Jiang Xiaoyu said at the launch ceremony.
The gold medal has an inlaid white jade ring, while the silver and bronze medals have rings of light green and dark green jade, respectively.
The inlaid rings represent ceremonial jade disks known as "bi" in ancient China.
They "symbolize nobility and virtue and are the embodiment of the traditional Chinese values of morality and honor", BOCOG said.
The front of the 70-millimeter-diameter, 6-millimeter-wide medal shows the standard image prescribed by the IOC: the winged goddess of victory Nike and an ancient stadium.
The reverse sides show a relief of the Beijing Games emblem in the center of the jade rings.
The IOC approved the medals after several changes to the original design, which was chosen from hundreds of entries entered into a competition.
The gold and silver medals ar
e both made of pure silver, but the Olympic champion medals are plated with about 6 grams of gold each.
The ceremony to unveil the medals was held at Beijing''s Capital Museum, attended by government and Olympic officials, Chinese pop stars, former Olympic champions and schoolchildren.
The event was one of dozens held in Beijing and other Chinese cities to mark the 500-day countdown to the 2008 ga
 | | The medals unveiling ceremony in Beijing. | |
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ames.
Schoolchildren across the capital held outdoor exhibitions of their Olympic-themed work early Tuesday.
An estimated 10,000 people took part in a long-distance walking event in Beijing''s Chaoyang Park on Sunday and the city will hold more sports events, launch new Olympic products, a webpage to recruit international "honorary visitors", and a campaign against swearing.
Beijing has also launched district table tennis competitions that may give the winners a chance to take part in a 10,000-player extravaganza on August 8, exactly one year before the 2008 Games.
Reported from Beijing by Bill Smith.
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