Beijing is determined to have a clean and green city for the Summer Olympics and even hotel housekeeping may be enlisted to sweep away the dust.

At the Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing, Lord Sebastian Coe was arriving as I was leaving.

At the Raffles Hotel on the east side of the city, Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong was checking in the day I arrived.

Lord of the Games, Coe, was in town to attend SportAccord, the world's annual sporting convention, and the biggest sporting event to be held in Beijing before the "real thing". SM Goh was in town to meet high-level Chinese officials including Premier Wen Jiabao to discuss "mutually beneficial" issues.

I did not meet either gentlemen – Coe was in the gym at 7am, a time when I am dreaming of cuddly pandas and SM Goh was in the lobby with so many bodyguards I couldn't get through – but their presence in Beijing is indicative of a city that's busy preparing for the biggest party of its life in modern Chinese history, at least.

The Bird's Nest takes shape.

Olympics 2008 signs are emblazoned everywhere.

They are at the airport when you first arrive; on the outer ring roads, which you tend to get stuck in a lot because no matter how wide they are, they cannot cope with the numbers of new cars that keep pouring into the system; on billboards and at souvenir stores around town.

You can now buy Beibei The Fish, Yingying The Tibetan Antelope and Nini The Swallow in various shapes and sizes.

Everyday, citizens are reminded of the Games by a daily countdown which started on March 27 – 500 days. As I write this, the website tells me there are 470 days to go.

Then there are all the measures that will be taken to ensure Beijing puts on its best summer frock for the Games. Thirty million flowerpots, for instance, have been ordered to brighten up the city. There is also talk that 40% of cars in Beijing will be taken off the road during the weeks of the Games.

See, the thing is, in China, when things need to be done, they get done. Where else could you order people not to drive for a few weeks?

The outer structure of the Water Cube – the National Aquatics Centre – was completed late last year.

I also hear that hotels in Beijing have been asked to "volunteer" their housekeeping staff to help with general cleaning duties in the lead-up to the Games.

With more than 10,000 hotel rooms being added to the city between now and August 2008 – and that's just four percent of total room inventory, I am told – that's a lot of help that the government can count on indeed. You could call it the Hoteliers' Liberation Army.

I crossed town to visit one of the newbies, the Marco Polo Parkside where general manager Malcolm McLauchlan is busy working away to ensure his hotel, located on the periphery of the Olympic Park, opens in June.

It's like an entire city is being built in this side of town. Rows upon rows of tower blocks are taking shape. I think the world's crane population is either here or split between Beijing and Shanghai and okay, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.

In the centre, I see the Bird's Nest next to the Water Cube. I can now see why they are called what they are called.

The membrane structure of the outside layer of the Water Cube – the National Aquatics Centre – that gives it the wavy, watery look, was completed late last year.

I try and get as close to the National Stadium as I can, without choking on the dust. It looks a bit like the Durian in Singapore (Esplanade Theatres On The Bay) except instead of a spiky hairdo, it has a braided, woven kind of look. I can see why birds could feel at home in this structure.

The driver, cigarette in hand, points at the buildings and says, "Big, no?"

I replied, "Big. Yes."

Size, we all know, matters in this country. I just hope that after the biggest party has been and gone, Beijing will not be left with the biggest hangover in modern Chinese history.

Yeoh Siew Hoon, one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators,  write a regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry for 4Hoteliers.com.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her company's mission is "Content, Communication, Connection".  She is a writer, speaker, facilitator, trainer and events producer. She is also an author, having published "Around Asia In 1 Hr: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries". Her motto is 'free to do, and be'.

Yeoh Siew Hoon's other writings can be found at www.thetransitcafe.com . Get your weekly cuppa of news, gossip, humour and opinion at the cafe for travel insiders.