Tianjin, North China, May 23 -- Driver Liu Dong bought a two-bedroom flat on the northern suburb of Tianjin two years ago with 250,000 yuan (US$ 31,250) and sold it 400,000 yuan(US$ 50,000) last week.

Construction site of the Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium,which will serve as one of the Football venues during the Beijing Olympics. [BOCOG]

"Without the Beijing Olympics, I would have never made such a huge profit," said the 44-year-old who works for a local newspaper. "As the closet of the cities to Beijing and a host to Olympic soccer games, Tianjin has changed in many ways."

Liu is one of the beneficiaries of the 2008 Olympics to be held in the Chinese capital, a two-hour drive from where he lives. The ride will be shortened to 30 minutes when the 12.3 billion yuan Beijing-Tianjin rail link is completed in 2008.

Tianjin University student Du Juan also sees a rosy picture for her career.

"The Beijing Olympics will surely create a lot of job opportunities and I am applying for a job in the local organizing committee for the 2008 Games," she said.

Tianjin, along with Shenyang and Qinhuangdao and the booming eastern metropolis Shanghai, will host Olympic men's and women's soccer games and enjoy a taste of the infrastructure expansion drive that is changing the face of the Chinese capital.

The four cities are hoping their new status would bring urban renewal and renovation as well as international sporting recognition.

The other Olympic co-hosts are Qingdao and Hong Kong, which will hold the Olympic sailing and equestrian competition respectively.

A new 80,000-seat Olympic stadium is being built in Tianjin and the expansion project of Tianjin Airport is underway.

On completion in 2007, the expanded airport, with a total investment of 2.6 billion yuan, will handle 5.6 million passengers and 500,000 tons of cargo annually, as well as 66,000 flights.

The new airport buildings will cover an area of 74,000 square meters, and a parking area will cover 45,000 square meters. The present runways will be extended by 400 meters.

Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium went into construction in August 2003 and is due for completion in 2006. Designed by AXS SAWTO Inc. (Japan), the stadium includes a 22,670 square meters indoor parking lot, a 3,460 sq. m. exhibition hall, a 6,400 sq. m. dining room, a 5,930 sq. m. health care center, and 4,010 sq. m. rooms for both athletes and referees.

"Tianjin people are as enthusiastic about the 2008 Olympics as those in Beijing," said Tianjin's deputy sports director Xie Delong.