In pictures: Olympic village opens

China's basketball star Yao Ming (c) was part of an all-Chinese delegation of athletes at the opening of the Olympic village.

The ceremony took place on a muggy morning, with the village's blocks of flats shrouded in a pollution haze.

Some of the thousands of volunteers who will be working during the Games took an oath at the ceremony.

The village lies adjacent to the National Stadium and National Aquatics Centre on Beijing's Olympic Green.

Some 16,000 athletes and officials will stay in the village during the Games, which run from 8-24 August.

Chen Zhili (r) the so-called mayor of the village, said the facilities were ready to welcome athletes from all over the world.

Chen received a symbolic gold key to the village from organising committee president Liu Qi.

After the Games finish, the Olympic flats will be refitted and sold.

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