Waving little red flags, 64-year-old Ma Yingxin and his 62-year-old colleague Chen were very busy on Sunday: the two helped form six queues* for people waiting for six buses at a stop in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing.

The two men were volunteers* for Beijing’s first “Queuing Day.” The event being held on the 11th of each month was launched by the Beijing municipal government as part of a campaign for residents to exhibit “civilized* behavior” ahead of the 2008 Olympics.

The 11th was picked because the two numbers resemble* two people lining up.

Thousands of volunteers hit the streets on Sunday. They were sent to 345 of the thousands of bus stops in the city, said Zhang Huiguang, director of the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau.

Some dressed as Fuwa, the Olympic mascots*, who marched through Wangfujing holding banners asking people to line up and “behave well.”

“More than 80 per cent of people lined up without being asked when they saw the queues,” said one of the volunteers surnamed Ma.

However, when Ma’s team left at 5:30 p.m., dozens swarmed* the stop, and all rushed to arriving buses.

Also, no queues could be found at bus stops where no volunteers had been designated.

“I know it is Queuing Day, but there must be an organizer to help people line up,” said a woman in her 40s surnamed Xu. “Otherwise, who is going to do it?”

Officials believe that people lining up wherever needed helps improve the image of the city.

Besides queuing up, Beijing residents are paying more attention to their public behaviors. According to Zhang, the ratio* of people spitting* in public declined from 8.4 percent in 2005 to 4.9 percent in 2006, and incidents of littering* fell from 9.1 percent to 5.3 percent.

Officials have announced a range of measures including “punishment and reward” programs to improve the city image.

People spitting could be fined up to 50 yuan (US$6.50).

(SD-Agencies)