"We are supposed to remind people constantly throughout the tour, and also lead an etiquette discussion at the end of the tour," said Huang Xiaohui, a tour guide with a Beijing-based travel agency.

"The Olympics are coming, and we don't want to get disgraced," Huang said, summing up the purpose succinctly.

Beijing expects to receive 550,000 foreign tourists during the Olympics and an estimated 2 million domestic tourists will also visit the capital city.

"Promoting civilized behaviors among Chinese travelers is a long-term task. To harvest short-term results before the games, we need to focus our resources on the main problems," said Zhai Weihua, SCSC deputy director.

"Tens of thousands of reporters will come to China to cover the Games next year, which means both China's positive and negative sides will be amplified. Once bad impressions are made, they last, " Zhai said.

"That's why we should grab the opportunity to change uncouth behavior," said Wu Jianmin, President of China Foreign Affairs University, in a TV interview.

The Olympics are now only about 450 days away.

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