Eighteen-year-old Special Olympics athlete Wu Fangmiao (left) and basketball star player Yao Ming show off a ceramic tile they made yesterday for a wall to be displayed during the Games at Shanghai Stadium from October 2 to 11. - Shanghai Daily

Steffie Lu/ Shanghai Daily news

A ceramic wall to be displayed at the 2007 Special Olympic Summer Games completed its initial manufacture yesterday, Shanghai Daily reported.

Designed by Hong Kong artist Caroline Cheng, the nine-meter by four-meter wall will have 1,000 square tiles, said the Games' executive committee.

Each tile is designed by different people, including Special Olympic athletes, volunteers and the Special Olympics International spokesmen, and their names will be carved on the reverse of the tiles. The wall will be finished by September, and will be displayed at Shanghai Stadium during the Games, from October 2 to 11.

Yesterday NBA player Yao Ming also helped make a tile with Special Olympics athlete Wu Fangmiao. "I believe we should always be concerned with disadvantaged groups, including the mentally challenged, and such concern should not end with the end of the Games," said Yao.

More than 10,000 athletes and coaches from about 160 countries and regions will compete in the Games.