Beijing's online ticketing system, which collapsed six months ago under the crunch of Olympic ticket demand, was slowed but seemed to survive Monday as the last batch of domestic tickets went on sale. About 1.38 million tickets went on sale Monday at Bank of China branches and on an official website. Buyers reported waiting several hours to buy at Bank of China outlets. Attempts to buy online were slow and some purchases difficult to complete. Beijing organizers said four competition sessions sold out in the first 30 minutes with tickets available in sports like boxing, soccer, baseball and wrestling. “The website may become a little bit slow at peak hours, but it's still normal and there's no problem,” said Zhu Yan, director of the Beijing ticketing center. He said about 320,000 tickets were sold with the system – at its peak – receiving 27 million hits in an hour. Six months ago when organizers attempted to sell online, overwhelming demand in the first few hours crashed the system. The organizers reverted to a lottery system and demoted the director of ticketing. Organizers promised several weeks ago that the online sales system would work this time. Sales at banks seemed to start smoothly with buyers waiting for several hours for a chance to purchase tickets. Hundreds lined up at bank offices around Beijing, hoping to accomplish their mission.
