Residents in Beijing, the host of the imminent 29th Olympic Games, said the city's sanitation conditions had improved.

More than 70 percent of local residents surveyed were satisfied with the city's environment. Most said things were improving, according to a government-sponsored survey on the city's sanitation conditions in the second quarter.

In total, 3,460 households from 173 residential communities, picked via random sampling and scattered across the city, were interviewed at their homes for the survey.

It showed garbage collection and street cleansing had earned higher marks among other items. Those surveyed also said the city environment maintenance and service at public washrooms had been markedly improved.

Some residents living in old courtyards near downtown Beijing actually very much relied on public washrooms, because many such buildings were not equipped with bathrooms.

Measures such as a ban on spitting in the capital, which started in 2006, had paid off.

Official statistics showed the rate of people spitting on Beijing streets was 2.54 percent in 2007, down from 4.9 percent in 2006. In addition, the rate of littering 2.86 percent last year, compared with 5.3 percent in 2006.

(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2008)