About 5,000 government employees took to street to stop uncouth behaviors such as spitting and littering in the Chinese capital on Monday, the National Day.

The employees, dispatched by the Beijing Municipal Law-enforcing Bureau of City Comprehensive Administration, patrolled major tourist sites, such as the Tian'anmen Square in the heart of the Chinese capital, and shopping centers in the city.

The governmental move was taken to help polish the image of the national capital as it is preparing for next year's Olympic Games.

Jumping a queue, spitting, littering and loudly clearing one's throat in public are some of the frequently observed bad habits that are giving Chinese travelers a bad reputation, according to the Spiritual Civilization Steering Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the official etiquette watchdog.

The government is hoping to use the Olympics to help its citizens get more civilized.

To reduce queue jumping, the municipal government has set the 11th day of each month as the "queuing day", urging citizens to stand in line to get on bus, subway or buying tickets.

During the week-long May day holiday this year, more than 50 people in Beijing have been fined up to 50 yuan (about US$6.7) for spitting.

Local tourism authorities have predicted that about 1.7 million people will visit the Chinese capital during the week-long National Day holiday.

(Xinhua News Agency October 2, 2007)