China to auction off 20 million items of Olympic memorabilia

CHINA plans to auction off 20 million items related to the Beijing Olympics, including the bed that basketball star Yao Ming slept in while taking part in the Games.

Also on the block will be electric appliances used by Liu Xiang, the celebrity 110m hurdler forced to quit the Games with an injury, and ancient musical instruments from the opening ceremony.

There are so many items it could take up to two years to auction them all. The auctions will be conducted by the China Beijing Equity Exchange, which mostly sells off shares in state-owned enterprises to private buyers. It may raise $US145m.