"The Chinese audience is polite and enthusiastic!" said Kalis, who came to Beijing to watch the Games from the United States with his family and friends. He watched New Zealand versus Spain at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium on Monday.

    "Some of them are quiet, discussing in whispers while watching the games and some of them are good English speakers and interested in chatting with foreigners," said the American, a former sales manager.

    In the run-up to the Games, Chinese citizens had been trying to shed bad habits, such as spitting and queue-jumping. The cheerleader audience for the Games also underwent special training.

    "Some of them are cheering in squads with standardized movements and yelling," said the American.

    But what impressed Kalis more deeply was an incident that occurred on Friday night when he watched the Games' opening ceremony.

    Alison, Kalis' daughter, fainted in her seat because of the sweltering weather.

    A Chinese member of the audience noticed and immediately helped send the girl to the emergency treatment center at the venue, said Kalis.

    "They are really helpful and I will not forget them," said Alison.

    At competition venues when a competition is on, the discussions are in whispers, but the cheers are loud. Occasionally, polite words of English like "excuse me" and "sorry" are heard too.

    The Beijing Workers Cheerleader Group is one of the Chinese cheer groups. The team comprises about several hundred Beijing citizens, most in their 40s or 50s.

    "We will try our best to be the most welcome audience!" said the group head surnamed Hu.

    In the service center of the Olympic basketball gymnasium, Chinese audience members queued up to buy food and beverage together with foreigners.

    "We Chinese should impress foreigners with our hospitality and politeness," said Hou Yani, a Beijing high school girl eating at the center.

    "When I was waiting for the security check to get inside the gymnasium,some Chinese audience reminded me that the cosmetics, food and batteries cannot be taken inside," said Trudy, a 26-year-old Dutch girl. She is an organizer of a mountain climbing club and a big fan of basketball.

    "Chinese audience are very nice and helpful," said the girl.

    With the Chinese name of "Dahai", a Spanish young man who has been studying in Beijing for three years, was the most excited in the venue. He wore the national flag of Spain, yelled and played a traditional Spanish instrument, cheering for his country.

    "Chinese audience are much quieter than me, haha," he said, smiling. "But they are really enthusiastic for the sports, you can tell it from their eyes and their waving of the Chinese national flags all through the competition."

    Li Xiaoyu, a volunteer at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium, said the Chinese audience impressed him a lot.

    "The Chinese audience regard themselves not only as the audience, but also the host to welcome foreigners," said Li, a student of China Agricultural University.

    "They show foreigners the roads, translate for them, even treat the sick if their professions permit. Most of the Chinese audience are actually doing as same as we volunteers." (Northeast web)