Hurdler Liu Xiang was cheered by the throng that flocked to Millennium Monument on a cold night, capping a year in which frenzied construction of Olympic venues and other projects changed the face of Beijing.

As the games near, expectations grow for Liu to repeat his gold-medal winning performance in the 110-meter hurdles at the Athens Olympics. Also at Millennium Monument, a circular raised stone edifice, was movie star Jackie Chan.

All but one Olympic project, the 91,000-seat National Stadium scheduled to be finished by March, has been completed, officials said recently.

Scores of laborers worked around the clock to ensure timely completion of the projects — from archery ranges to a swimming venue covered by a translucent, blue-toned skin to gymnasium halls.

From Jan. 1, there will be 220 days until the start of the Aug. 8-24 Olympics. A source of immense national pride in China, Beijing is spending an estimated $40 billion to modernize for the Olympics. With an estimated 500,000 to 800,000 foreign visitors, Beijing will be under the world's gaze as never before.

President Hu Jintao said in a live television address broadcast Monday he hopes the Olympics will be a platform for "promoting understanding and friendly cooperation between the people of China and the world."

The games have brought a full-scale redesign of Beijing, with ultramodern buildings changing its centuries-old look. American soprano Kathleen Battle and Chinese pianist Lang Lang played at the newly opened futuristic egg-shaped National Center for the Performing Arts on Monday evening, right next to Tiananmen Square — long symbolizing the center of power in the Communist state.

In winning the rights to the Olympics in 2001 China promised to allow greater media freedom, improve human rights and clean up its environment.

But air pollution is still a worry for Beijing. The International Olympic Committee has said it might reschedule events if smog levels are too high. Jammed traffic and possible protests against the communist regime are also concerns.

Amnesty International, media advocacy groups and others want the IOC to go further and promote human rights in China in line with what they believe is the spirit of the Olympics. Beijing also is accused of not pushing Sudan's government to do more to end the Darfur crisis.

Arrests of dissidents this year, a continued clampdown on free speech and evictions of residents living on Olympic sites have intensified criticism that China is not doing enough to deliver on its promises.