China has stepped up security at one of Beijing's most sensitive locations, Tiananmen Square, just days ahead of the Olympics, state media reported on Wednesday.
"All the tourists have to pass a security check before they enter the square," said Jia Yingting, from the Square's management committee, according to the Xinhua news agency.
Jia said checkpoints were already established both in the underground passages and the ground entrances leading up to the square.
"We will increase and improve the security check as the number of tourists keeps growing," Jia said, according to Xinhua.
The square was the location for weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing in 1989, which were ended in a bloody crackdown that left hundreds, possibly thousands dead.
It is one of the most sensitive spots for China's communist authorities, and media organisations have been in long-running dispute with Olympic organisers over whether they can broadcast from the landmark in the run-up and during the Games.
A separate Xinhua report said that tourists would only have limited access to the Square on the morning of August 8, the day of the opening ceremony, because of cultural and sports activities being held in China.