Olympics soar sales of snacks in China

The Olympic Games have sent the sales of snacks soaring in China.

Sports fans here are stocking up food at home so that they do not have to go out to eat when their favourite Olympic event is on television.

Carrefour, the largest foreign retailer in China, said sales of snacks and imported beer have increased significantly since the Games started.

The sale of snacks at the supermarket's Fangyuan branch in Beijing has risen by nearly 16 percent in the past two weeks. Prunes, in particular, have seen a 60 percent growth in sales.

More people are also buying food from online stores to save time. Taobao.com, a popular online market, said intra-city transactions have increased by more than 20 percent.

Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou have seen the most significant growth. Various kinds of nuts and pastries top the list.

Concluding ceremony to be performed unrehearsed

The concluding ceremony of the Olympic Games on Sunday will be performed unrehearsed unlike its spectacular opening ceremony which was repeatedly rehearsed at the National Stadium.

The men's marathon will end at the stadium at about noon, leaving only eight hours for the organisers to prepare for the closing ceremony, China Daily reported.

Also, the time has also been allotted to the London 2012 team to rehearse an eight-minute handover ceremony.

However, small rehearsals are being held at training sites away from the stadium.

Olympic village, also a window to Chinese culture

The Olympic Village in Beijing besides being an athlete's compound is also a place where the players can get to know Chinese culture.

The Chinese Traditional Arts and Crafts Show, located in the international area of the village, is part of the effort to offer the delegation members a full experience of Chinese culture. 27 Chinese folk artists are selected to demonstrate their skills in the Olympic Village from July 27 to Aug 27.

Live craft making ranges from New Year painting to paper-cuts, kites, embroidery, cloth artefacts, clay figurines, facial masks and much more.

(Indo-Asian News Service)