Ever since China was awarded the 2008 Olympic Games five years ago, the country has been busy making all kinds of preparations for the big day.
Eager to show the world the progress the country has made over the past decade, the Central government has set aside abundant resources to spruce up Beijing's image.
Among the many initiatives is the campaign to polish citizens' language skills.
In order to address the needs of foreign visitors who will descend on Chinese soil in droves in 2008, all people, from government officials, taxi drivers and hotel receptionists to students, are learning English.
Bilingual signs and billboards display all over the city.
Littered with grammatical mistakes, the signs have long been the laughing stock of tourists. But, as part of the drive to refurbish the capital, all signs with language flaws will be replaced this year.
Linguistic woes aside, Beijing has long been plagued by the problem of air pollution.
