Tickets for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games will go on sale Friday with about 830,000 tickets available, the organizers said on June 18, 2008.

The prices of tickets have been kept low -- from 30 yuan ($4.35) to 80 yuan.

Zhu Yan, director of the Olympic Ticketing Center, said tickets are "general admission ones", which means holders can choose to sit where they like. Tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis.

People can book through the official ticketing website, http://www.tickets.beijing2008.cn from tomorrow until September 14.

Designated Bank of China outlets and venue ticket boxes in Beijing and Qingdao will start sales later.

The sale of tickets for the Games' opening and closing ceremonies started December.

There will be a total of 1.66 million tickets available, with 20 percent set aside free of charge for the Paralympic education program.

"The free tickets will be distributed to students and disabled people to let the whole society partake in the Games," Zhu said.

With the approach of the Olympic Games, the government is strictly enforcing regulations on the control, production and sale of banned substances.

Twenty-three chemical companies have been ordered to stop illegal production and distribution of protein assimilation preparations and peptide hormones.

The licenses of 18 pharmaceutical distribution companies have been revoked, and 321 websites that illegally released trade information on banned substances have been punished.

Meanwhile, Beijing's average hotel room rate during the Games has dropped slightly in the past two months, while the occupancy rate has grown steadily, Xiong Yumei, deputy director of the Beijing tourism administration, said yesterday.

As of May 31, except for five-star hotels, whose rates continue to increase, hotels with four stars and under have all seen rates drop by 33 yuan to 85 yuan, compared to that of March 31 this year.

"This is because most hotels in the Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang and Haidian districts have been booked, and tourists are turning to hotels located a bit farther away from the Games' venues. These hotels charge less, dragging down the average price level," Xiong said.

The decrease in prices has boosted occupancy rates, especially those of three-star hotels, Xiong said.

(China Daily June 19, 2008)