Percussionists stand still prior to hit their Fou drums at the start of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing on August 8, 2008. The three-hour show at Beijing's iconic "Bird's Nest" national stadium is set to see more than 15,000 performers showcase the nation's ancient history and development. [Agencies]

Sharing in pride

The Chinese shared the Olympic pride as they watched the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday.

In Beijing, locals and visitors braved stifling heat as they crowded parks and other designated viewing areas to see the opening ceremony, the paper said.

"They might not have tickets to the Games. They might never set foot inside the stadium. But wherever there was a TV screen, big or small, the people of Beijing on Friday gathered and cheered, soaking up this brief moment in the long history of this ancient capital when the Olympic flame illuminated the Chinese sky," the paper said.

Despite heat and the threat of a summer shower, locals poured into designated parks and viewing areas in Beijing, grandparents and babies in tow, some waiting hours for a foothold among the standing-room-only crowds of thousands, the paper said.

"I am so proud to be Chinese tonight," Ju Ke, a 19-year-old animation student who got a front row seat on the grass of Ditan Park before two giant monitors, was quoted as saying.

 

Female dancers dance in traditional Chinese constumes at the opening ceremony of Beijing Games in Beijing on August 8, 2008. The three-hour show at Beijing's iconic "Bird's Nest" national stadium is set to see more than 15,000 performers showcase the nation's ancient history and its development. [Agencies]

"China has made so much progress in recent years," he said. "Chinese culture is so amazing. The Olympics were hard-earned."

All the years of waiting and sacrifice seemed worth it when the Games finally began at that auspicious 8 minutes past 8 on the eighth day of the eight month in the eighth year past the second millennium, the paper said.

"They've probably been preparing for this day since Deng Xiaoping opened up China to the world," Nicholas Martelli, a Chinese language student from Italy, said. He also had waited hours to see the show on the big screen along with a group of visitors from Spain.

The US Miami Herald said "the Beijing Olympic organizers dazzled an audience of 91,000 at the whimsical Bird's Nest Stadium and another estimated 4 billion watching on television with a colorful, imaginative opening ceremony that bridged ancient and modern Chinese history."

The New York Times said on its website: "An ecstatic China, an ancient nation so determined to be a modern power, finally got its Olympic moment on Friday night ... the 2008 Beijing Olympics began with an opening ceremony of soaring fireworks, lavish spectacle and a celebration of Chinese culture and international good will."