The red carpet is getting worn out.

A jam of limousines snarls traffic around the Great Hall of the People.

Never before has a Chinese leader greeted so many illustrious foreign heads of state and government on his home turf in such a short period of time.

The news on CCTV, the state broadcaster, shows one image after another of President Hu Jintao greeting and shaking hands with foreign leaders arriving for the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics, just hours from now.

On Thursday, Hu met with the presidents of Laos, Brazil, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Montenegro, Timor-Leste and the top legislator of North Korea.

Also arriving Wednesday or Thursday were heads of state or government from Australia, Afghanistan, Croatia, Israel, Turkmenistan, Gabon, Mali, Latvia, Tajikistan, Madagascar, Mongolia, Chad, Andorra, Guinea, Slovakia, Kyrgyzstan, Fiji, Samoa, Micronesia and the Seychelles.

While Hu gripped and grinned at the Great Hall, Russian leader Vladimir Putin landed at the airport, arriving just after President George Bush. Bush and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, inaugurated a new U.S. Embassy in Beijing early today (see photo above).

Also this morning, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak landed. So did the head of the junta in Myanmar.

The list goes on to include princes, sultans and kings. The crown princes of Qatar, Denmark, Holland, Spain, Tonga and Belgium have arrived, as well as Thai’s crown princess and Monaco's Prince Albert and Britain's Princess Anne. Norwegian King Harald V and Queen Sonja are coming. And so is the sultan of Brunei.

A little mystery surrounds one no-show: Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. One unconfirmed press report said Mugabe made it all the way to Hong Kong before China suggested maybe it’d be better if he went back home.

If U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon shows up, he might as well convoke a session of the General Assembly.