(BEIJING, July 12) -- Beijing is renovating 11 old sports gymnasiums to make them standard venues for next summer's Olympic Games.

The number of such facilities represents one third of the 31 competition venues located in Beijing because the Games organizers want to hold "economical" Olympics.

The task of renovation and extension is complicated as many of the gyms were built in the 1950s or 1960s, and their shortcomings in firefighting devices, structure design or service equipment have become evident due to years of use.

The construction staff put their wisdom in full play and added many features to the buildings. For instance, the Workers' Stadium, built in 1959, is being turned into a football venue for the 2008 Games. To ensure safety, all its fire-proof materials have been renewed.

In the case of the 36-year-old Workers' Indoor Stadium, a new air conditioning system and accessible facilities have been installed to meet the needs of the Olympic boxing and the Paralympic judo competitions.

The Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, a handball venue in 2008, has seen new electricity-powered blind windows and open-type windows installed to enable natural ventilation and lighting, a testimony of energy-saving and environmental protection.

Another example is Ying Tung Natatorium, where the water polo and swimming competitions of modern pentathlon will be held: a solar energy collection system has been added to warm up the waters at the swimming pools. The new moisture-drawing system there can lower the humidity inside the venue, thus providing a more comfortable environment for spectators.

In the Capital Indoor Stadium, a volleyball venue for the Olympics, 62 dampers have been installed and the building's roof has been reinforced to enable it to endure an earthquake measuring as high as 8 on the Richter scale. The newly-installed residual heat exchanger there can make use of the residual heat produced by the building itself.

On July 11, 2007, Beijing Municipal CPC Committee Secretary and President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) Liu Qi paid a site visit to the projects while updated on their progress. He encourage the constructors to abide by the "frugality" principle, build high-standard and quality venues, find ways of their post-Games use to "better serve the Olympics and the residents at large."