BEIJING, June 30 -- BEIJING has received its first shipment of Olympic-standard sand -- 1,400 tones of it -- which will be used to create the beach volleyball venue, Reuters said, citing Xinhua news agency.

The shipment came in 59 trucks and was the first batch of a total of 17,000 tones -- specially approved by the International Volleyball Federation -- needed for next year's Games, Xinhua said.

Each shipment costs US$1.28 million. It takes 12 days to ship the load from the south China island of Hainan to Tianjin Port and then two hours by truck to Beijing.

Olympic sand, which must conform to a set shape, size and color, usually comes from Finland, Sweden and Denmark, said Xinhua.

After being selected by the organizing committee of the Games, the sand must still undergo processing, washing and polishing, it said.

"It feels good, very thin and clean -- not sticky -- and it runs quickly through your fingers," a passer-by said after feeling the sand.