Special report: 2008 Olympic Games

    QINGDAO, Shandong, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Vice President Xi Jinping has called on co-host cities of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to gear up their preparations and do their best to host a distinctive Olympiad.

    Preparations for the 2008 Olympics and Paralympic Games had entered the final, pivotal phase, he said. All co-host cities must work in line with the central government's deployment, step up their preparations and make contributions to the events, Xi told a conference on Olympic preparations of co-host cities held in the coastal city of Qingdao on Wednesday.

    The Beijing Olympics' chief organizer, Liu Qi, and officials from the co-host cities -- including Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao -- briefed the meeting on the latest phase of their preparations and their plans for the next steps.

    Xi praised their efforts in venue building, publicity and building public enthusiasm, saying all preparations were going on smoothly with the software and hardware basically meeting the criteria. He said all these activities had built a solid foundation for the hosting of a distinctive, high-profile Olympics and Paralympic Games.

    He urged the cities to build on their achievements and put everything in order, including the venues, technical systems, management standards, security, volunteer work and the cities' own functioning.

    Xi said the cities must strengthen their security and risk prevention work to ensure the safety of the games. All the co-host cities must work out service guides for overseas journalists and provide comprehensive services for their coverage of the event. The training of volunteers must also be stepped up to make them genuine promoters of the Olympic spirit and their smiles the most unforgettable image of the games.

    The vice president also asked the cities to ensure a safe and smooth torch relay in their own cities.

    On Wednesday, he also visited the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center, where he met with athletes participating in an international sailing competition of disabled people and asked their opinions on the venue and service.