BEIJING - Rust has set in on an 18ha blue-and-white beach volleyball stadium at Chaoyang Park in Beijing which, in its heyday, would reverberate with the sound of cheering from the stands with 22,000 spectators.

Now, dull metallic sheets, split at the edges, cover a side of the ageing arena where the words "Beijing 2008" used to be. Inside, 17,000 tonnes of fine sand imported from Hainan province still sit on the ground where world-class athletes once competed for Olympic honours.