Beijing Olympics

The Summer Olympic games opened on Aug 8, 2008. Wife and I woke up at 5am Vancouver time to watch the show.

The 08:08:08 pm (Beijing Time) opening ceremony was certainly stunning. Two thumbs up to Zhang. 2008 drummers/dancers performed in unison. Marvelous use of colors and visual effects. Great costumes. I must admit I was amazed by some of the creative ideas: the count down, the footprint fireworks, the painting scroll, the movable type print performance, the lighting of the torch. Zhang has created a brilliantly dynamic and electric experience by making the best use of the stage, the city, the people, technology, and the chinese culture. It's the greatest outdoor show I've ever seen indoor.

True, the footprint fireworks on TV was an animation. True, the adorable little girl was only lip-synching. True, Li Ning wasn't really 'sky-running'. True, Lang Lang was only 'performing'. But does it really matter? It's all part of the show. It's all calculated to ensure success of it. Do you complain that David Copperfield's 'magics' were fake?

The Game has given the world a renewed impression of the capital city. The bird's nest, the water cube, the media center, and the whole olympic village and neighborhood have all portraited a modernized look of the developing China. I still vaguely remember my Beijing experience more than 20 years ago. What I see on TV now makes me wow. I'm sure many more visitors will be interested to come to China in years to follow.

It's been a success so far in the 2nd week of the Game. If nothing else, China has already captured enough Gold medals to be a very proud host indeed.