BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Amid Olympic fever, sales of the Chinese national flag in the past month had jumped 30 times over the previous months here in the host city, the Beijing Daily reported on Tuesday.

    As the Olympic Games neared, an increasing number of Beijing citizens bought the national flag to fly at home or on their cars, said the report.

    An unnamed official at Beijing Jinggong Readflag Factory, the only flag producer designated by the Games, told the newspaper that more than 40,000 flags of different nations and Olympic flags had been produced recently.

    While the factory was working overtime to make more flags, the supply still fell short of demand, the official said.

    Dealers said the Chinese national flag, with prices ranging from 1 yuan (about 14.6 U.S. cents) to dozens of yuan, and the Olympic flag were the best-sellers.

    The category of national flags that could be attached to cars or trucks was extremely popular in the host city, which boasted a total of 3.29 million vehicles.

    More than 20,000 such flags had been sold so far, said the paper. Car drivers often attached them to windows or rear view mirrors, allowing them to flap in the wind.

    "This is to show my patriotism," said a driver surnamed Xi. "Many of my colleagues and friends have stuck national flags on their cars too. It is a fashion now."

    In the first two weeks of August, Beijing-based gas stations owned by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) were giving out free national flags for their customers' cars.

    The campaign "Welcome the Olympics with the national flag," according to a CNPC official, was launched in support of a proposal made by a CCTV anchorman Zhang Yu in his blog.

    "The national flag on your car is not only a decoration, it also reminds you of your role as a host or hostess," he wrote. "It is a reminder of self-discipline as well as an expression of passion."