Despite a freezing cold, tens of thousands of local residents in Xi'an city in northwestern Shaanxi province turned up at the central square of the city Saturday to sign their names in support of Beijing to bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games.

"It will be fantastic to see the Olympic Games in Beijing," said Wu Rui, an 8-year-old girl who came to sign on the big scroll of canary silk with her mother.

"I believe Beijing will win. Let's make a bet of it, mom," she said after writing her name carefully on the silk scroll.

Many families signed their names to support Beijing's bid.

Mr An, in his 70s, used a traditional brush pen to write his name on the silk scroll.

Bidding for the Olympic Games is a matter of interests of every Chinese. So we elder people should throw our weight behind it," he said.

More than 100,000 local residents have signed since the activity began on November 8. The 700-meter-long silk scroll of signatures will be presented to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee by the end of December.

(China Daily 12/25/2000)