Is great to know that way back to 1908, which is 100 years ago, an educator in Beijing, name Zhang Boling fired up China's Olympic ambitions with these questions :
When could the mainland send an athlete to compete,and when would it win a gold medal? Most challenging,when would China, then severely weakened by hostile foreign forces and domestic strife, be able to host the Olympics?
08.08.2008 - China fulfilled this century-old dream with a grand spectacular opening of Beijing Olympic Games. The 16-day sports fest mark a bigger turning point in its development.
China has proven to the world that it is no longer the "sick man of East Asia" by beating the United States in the olympic gold medal race. Chinese athletes bagged a total of 51 gold medals, ahead of Second-placed US with 36 golds. As American sports historian Susan Brownell put it,hosting the Games was the Chinese people's "collective redemption for the natikonal suffering of he past century"
The 29th Olympiad was undoubtedly a remarkable success both for China and the international Olympic movement. TV viewership for both opening and closing ceremonies - at four billion - was unprecedented.
Do you have a view to share ? Drop me a line for the sharing.
