SHANGHAI -- Chinese authorities held an anti-terrorist drill in Shanghai to prepare the crucial port for any attack during next summer's Olympic Games.
The exercise Wednesday involved a gang of five mock terrorists hiding in shipping containers at Shanghai's Yangshan Deep-Water Port, according to the state Xinhua news agency. The drill was the largest of its kind for Shanghai, it said.
The mock terrorists attacked the port in the simulation and officials set up a local headquarters to dispatch emergency forces. The attackers were soon captured by local police.
The methods used in the exercise are expected to become standard procedure for anti-terrorist activities in China's cities, Xinhua said.
The drill involved 200 police officers, 45 vehicles, 13 ships and two helicopters, Xinhua quoted Peng Cuihong, an official who commanded the drill, as saying.
Shanghai is set to host some of the 2008 Olympic Games' soccer matches.
Shanghai's port is the largest in China, handling a heavy stream of cargo. Traffic increased by 15 percent to 20 percent between 2000 and 2006, the China Daily said.
Also Wednesday, officials held a safety drill at Beijing's airport to prepare for the Olympics. The exercise involved police, firefighters and soldiers, the Beijing News reported.
Police rehearsed a range of scenarios from explosives disposal to dispersing angry mobs, the newspaper said.
The airport has already set up special working plans for Olympic security, as well as buying new technology such as advanced X-ray machines and a bomb defusing robot, the newspaper said.
