Citizens celebrated the 500-day countdown to the opening of the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, capital of China's southern Guangdong province on Tuesday.

As part of the Etiquette Day of the Asian Games Guangzhou Tour, the organisers called on Guangzhou citizens to be good hosts of a civilized Asian Games, practising decent manners and taking volunteering works in the Games.

A series of promoting activities has been started simultaneously since March and will be continued in the coming few months, bearing the theme of "be a good citizen, be a good host" to attract public support for the games, in various districts and county-level cities to greet the 16th Asian Games.

Guangzhou was selected as the host city of the 16th Asian Games on July 1, 2004. It will be the second Chinese city to host the Games following Beijing in 1990.

(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2009)