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DURING the Olympic Games, Beijing is expected to host about 250,000 foreign spectators a day. When visiting Chinese spectators and general domestic and overseas tourists are added to this figure, the total number of visitors is expected to be around 550,000 a day during the Olympic weeks. With insufficient hotels to accommodate this number, the city has adopted another strategy. In March 2007, the Beijing Tourism Bureau announced its Olympic Homestay Plan, the perfect choice for those wishing to experience the life of ordinary Beijingers.

English teacher Han Rubing lives in a community just 15 minutes walk from the Birds Nest and Water Cube. Her husband Miao is a lawyer who has spent time in Germany. Their son Miao Zhuangzhuang, like many other kids, is a big fan of Japanese animation characters Ultraman and Doraemon. This August, their life is set to change after they were designated Olympic Homestay 0000 on April 10, 2008.

Zhuangzhuang regularly practices wushu, or martial arts, while his parents make time for Peking Opera rehearsals. “We cannot sing as well as the professionals, but as typical Chinese, we want to show foreign friends this aspect of local culture.” Miao has long been keen on opera and has a lot of fun practicing.

A years preparation has given Han confidence, but she is still not satisfied with her apartment. “The flat looks crowded and a little old-fashioned,” she says. “The community was built in 1990 and the layout is not practical.” Han wants to make up for the design shortcomings of her home with a harmonious family atmosphere.

Hans own homestay experience in Sydney has given her some ideas. When she and her colleagues arrived at their reception familys home in cold weather, she wanted to soak her feet in hot water before going to sleep, just like she did back in Beijing. The landlord asked what she needed and the next morning Han found a big new basin just outside her door.

Hans landlord suggested they make a Chinese dinner when he found they could not get used to the local food. He helped buy ingredients and took out his treasured porcelain. Han and her colleagues made their best dishes and everyone enjoyed a good dinner.

“The family impressed me with their sincerity. They treated us just like family members, but gave us our privacy at the same time,” recalls Han. The experience taught her not to be too overbearing with her visitors. “We Chinese tend to constantly try and persuade guests to drink or help themselves to food. This is our style of hospitality, but it will probably make foreigners feel uneasy.”

In the same community, 65-year-old Ma Yu is also transforming her apartment into a homestay. She visited Germany many times in the 1980s as a technician. One Christmas, she had no time to book a hotel in advance, so a German friend invited her to spend the holiday with his family. “We made a big dinner together, sang, and each got a gift.” Ma was deeply moved by the familys warmth.

After that occasion, Ma always lived with local people when she was in Germany. She became familiar with German customs, so when she was selected as a homestay host, she decided to alter one of her two bedrooms to suit European tastes, making changes like swapping the plank bed for a soft mattress. Mas apartment is now regarded as a perfect home away from home for German tourists, with a clean kitchen, a Western-style bedroom equipped with a computer, and a hostess proficient in German. Ma invited a German friend teaching at China Cultural University to help further improve the accommodation. After visiting the “house of blended cultures,” her friend said she believed it would leave any guestsatisfied.

All the families taking part in the homestay scheme have their own strengths. They might be good at Spanish or some other foreign language, be former diplomatic officials, or amateur Peking Opera performers, or antique collectors. Whoever their hosts are, visitors will have an unforgettable Olympic experience enjoying the best hospitality Beijing families have to offer.