Saturday marked the 20-day countdown to the opening of the Olympic Games. China's state media have called on all citizens to make a final all-out effort to ensure the Summer Games are a success.

Xinhua News Agency and the major national newspaper People's Daily published articles to encourage the nation to fully support the sports event.

The Xinhua article notes that after more than seven years of preparations for the Olympics, the country is in the final stages of its efforts. The preparation has brought improvements in various large-scale services such as security, transportation, hygiene, weather forecasting and environmental protection in China.

The Xinhua article said as August 8 - the day of the opening ceremony approaches - citizens and Olympic workers must pay careful attention to the final preparations to ensure the Games' success. It also stressed that all Chinese have dreamed of hosting the Olympics, and now that the moment has come, every citizen should act as a host or hostess for the Games.

The People's Daily article said the Olympics would be a unique opportunity for the Chinese to tell the world about the story of modern China as well as its 5,000 years of splendid culture. All citizens should take this opportunity to welcome international friends, fulfill our promise to the world, and make the Beijing Olympics a new chapter for peace, friendship and progress.