BBC SportOlympics

With just months to go before the world's biggest sporting spectacle, Beijing's preparations for the 2008 Olympics are well ahead of schedule.

With the majority of the city's 31 sporting venues finished or close to completion, organisers of the 29th Olympiad are on track to deliver what they hope will be the most impressive Games in history.

A lavish celebration on 8 August saw China officially begin the build-up, a year to the day when the Olympic torch will be lit inside the National Stadium.

Here, we get familiar with some of the Chinese capital's newly built structures...