Traffic restrictions and factory closures came into effect in Beijing today in a last ditch attempt to turn the often smoggy and dusty Chinese capital into the promised pollution-free venue for next month's Olympics.
On a sunny but slightly hazy day, only cars with even licence plate numbers were visible on the city's wide avenues and special Olympic lanes were empty apart from the odd overtaking driver.
Hundreds of "social volunteers" who will help tourists and police a crackdown on unwanted behaviour such as littering and spitting also lined Beijing's main Chang'an avenue in matching red caps and red-trimmed polo shirts.
Beijing has spent some 120 billion yuan (€11 billion) to clean up its environment, and has already ordered 300,000 high-emission cars off its roads.
The city's chronic pollution has been one of the biggest headaches for Games organisers, who are banking on traffic restrictions and last-minute industrial cut-backs to bring blue skies and easy breathing for athletes during the Games.
Under the new rules cars are banned on alternate days depending on whether their licence plates end in odd or even numbers, most official cars have been impounded and almost all earth and cement works have now been closed.
The government hopes to take 45 per cent of the city's 3.3 million cars off the roads and reduce emissions by two-thirds until the end of the Paralympic Games in mid-September.
A series of factory controls in Beijing and surrounding areas will also play a key role in the success of the controls.
The city has warned that drivers who violate the rules will be caught by a high-tech surveillance network and fined. Authorities had installed more than 10,000 "smart" devices, including cameras, ultrasonic and microwave scanners on major trunk roads and dozens of designated Olympic routes.
With more than 1,000 new cars on the street every day, Beijing is becoming one of the world's most congested cities. Officials hope that reduced emissions during the Games period will help improve air quality, although some athletes have lingering concerns.