The anti-terrorist forces were also equipped with battery-powered segways, each about a meter high and with two wheels.

The segways allowed the armed police to control direction and speed by changing the gravity center, leaving their hands free to shoot, said Huang Shan, a provincial special force vice head.

"With a speed of up to 20 kilometers per hour, the vehicle helps transport troops and shoot accurately, fast and silently."

China has put the emphasis on security in the run-up to the Games. An anti-terrorist force of nearly 100,000 commandos, police and army troops is on high alert for attempted terrorist attacks.

Security forces in host cities Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenyang, Qinhuangdao and Hong Kong have been patrolling the ground and skies of all venues and the maritime safety of coastal venues.

(Writing by Xinhua writer Li Zhihui in Beijing, with reporting by Wang Zhi and Zhao Dayong in Jinan.)