By Xinhua
Beijing : Curious locals are intrigued by the sand – 1,400 tonnes carried in 59 trucks – which has been offloaded at a construction site in Beijing's Chaoyang Park.
It appears white from a distance, but a closer look shows yellow granules too.
"It feels good, very thin and clean – not sticky – and it runs quickly through your fingers," a passer-by said after feeling the sand.
It is the first batch of 17,000 tonnes – specially approved by the International Volleyball Federation – to arrive at the park where the courts for the 2008 Olympics beach volleyball competition are under construction.
At a total cost of 10 million yuan (over $1.25 million), each shipment will spend 12 days aboard a boat from the south China island of Hainan to Tianjin Port and then a further two hours at least being trucked to Beijing.
The shipments are expected to be completed by mid-July, according to the Beijing Chaoyang Park Development Company, which is building the courts.
The sand from Dongfang city, Hainan, was carefully selected by the organising committee of the games after considering several options.
Olympic sand, which must conform to a set shape, size and colour, usually comes from Finland, Sweden and Denmark.
"Collected from local mines, the sand must undergo processing, including selection, washing and polishing," said Guo Shaoxian, an engineer with the development company.