10. The Beijing Green

The Olympic Forest Park, 680 hectares of plantation and lakes, has given the city a new green lung.

Beijing also built a number of new water purification plants for daily water recycling, replaced dated equipment at its power plants and retrofitted gas stations citywide.

The inclusion of solar power, rain-recycling and energy-saving facilities during venue construction are all helping the Games live up to its "Green Olympics" billing.

Beijing has also planted millions of trees to minimize sandstorms. It is also working with neighboring provinces to cut emissions.