(Sports Network) - China burst into the pantheon of Olympic host nations Friday night in Beijing with a stunning combination of sight and sound as well as an inspired display of pride in the country's enormous historical significance. Over 91,000 people packed into the Beijing National Stadium to witness the official start of the XXIX Olympiad and were treated to a generous helping of eye candy during an event that lasted over four hours and reportedly cost $300 million to produce.

The event was attended by an array of world leaders, including United States president George W. Bush (web|news|bio), who spent this week visiting a handful of Asian nations and along the way made waves with some critical words regarding China's human rights records. However, politics were put aside on a night when the national pride and culture of China were moved to the forefront.

The highlight of the night came with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron, ending a tumultuous torch journey, which encountered anti-Chinese government protests in the months leading up to the Summer Games. The final stretch, however, was safely within the sanctuary of the Bird's Nest, the affectionate nickname for the national stadium.

Not very long after the athletes from over 200 nations marched into the stadium, the igniting of the cauldron began. The torch was carried into the Bird's Nest and was handed off several times among famous Chinese Olympians before Li Ning, the celebrated gymnast, was given the honor of lighting the cauldron. Li is best known for winning six medals (3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze) at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and was the first-ever Chinese inductee to the International Gymnastic Hall of Fame.

The process of lighting the cauldron was extremely innovative as Li was lifted to the top of the stadium by wires and then "ran" around the circumference of the Bird's Nest. He finally reached a structure connected to the cauldron and lowered the torch, setting off a chain reaction that ultimately ignited the enduring symbol of the Olympic Games.

"I was very excited," said Li. "I could feel the strength rising from the depth of my heart. This was the result of one month's training. That moment meant China is standing side by side with the rest of the world."

The artistic director of the opening ceremony was Zhang Yimou, Chinese filmmaker of movies such as "Raise the Red Lantern" and "House of Flying Daggers". This evening's pageantry was the culmination of two years of intense preparation by Zhang and his extensive staff.

The countdown portion of the event began shortly after Chinese President Hu Jintao and Jacques Rogge, president of the IOC, entered the presidential box. A light show combined with the pounding of Fou drums, ancient Chinese percussion instruments, ticked the seconds away until a brilliant fireworks display exploded from the top of the Bird's Nest.

Additional Fou drumming by 2,008 performers chanted a famous Confucius song translated as, "Friends have come from afar, how happy we are." A path of 29 firework explosions in the form of footprints were then set off across the city, signifying the "footprints of history."

Back in the stadium, a cluster of falling stars combined to form the Olympic rings in a dazzling demonstration of visual effects.

Fifty-six children, each representing a different Chinese ethnic group, then accompanied the arrival of the Chinese flag as one child sang "A Hymn to My Country." The raising of the national flag was then lifted as a 224-member group chorus sang "March of the Volunteers", the National Anthem of the People's Republic of China.

The next performance dealt with papermaking, the first of the four great inventions of China. A giant scroll unfurled onto the stadium floor and performers slid across the blank canvas to reveal cloud drawings before the display unveiled the ancient Chinese painting "A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains".

The history of writing followed and various performances involving Chinese characters, one of the oldest scripts in the world. The segment was highlighted by a dance celebrating the Chinese invention of movable type, which began with engraving printing during the Sui Dynasty (581-618 A.D.).

A performance of traditional Chinese opera was next on the slate and quickly segued into a demonstration pertaining to the significance of the "Silk Road", the trade route that connected and East and West Asia during the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.- 25 A.D.).

Next up was a performance of music and dance combined with a display of China's historic "five long paintings".

Lang Lang, the world-famous Chinese pianist, followed with a performance in a segment entitled "Starlight". Lang was accompanied on the piano by Li Muzi, who is just five years old. A thousand performers then formed the bird's nest shape of the stadium.

A celebration of nature followed with a demonstration of Taijiquan, a martial art and form of stylized, meditative exercise, by 2,008 performers arranged in a circle. The ancient Chinese believed Taiji was the origin of the universe and all things interacted between the two poles (yin and yang) and the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire and earth).

The ensuing "Dream" sequence was highlighted by the elevation of a gigantic, 16-ton globe, which had 58 performers running around rings of the structure all while suspended sideways in the air, foreshadowing Li's run around the stadium before lighting the cauldron.

The artistic segment of the ceremony concluded with the singing of the Beijing Olympic theme song "You and Me", which was delivered in a duet between Britain's Sarah Brightman and China's Liu Huan.

Next came the parade of athletes, which began, of course, with Greece and ended with the host nation.

The U.S. team marched into the stadium 140th out of 205 nations, wearing nautical style outfits, consisting of navy-colored sport coats and khaki pants along with white flat caps. The throng of over 600 American athletes were led into the stadium by flag bearer Lopez Lomong, men's distance runner and a former Sudanese refugee who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2007.

Of course, the loudest applause was saved for the Chinese delegation, which was led by Houston Rockets center Yao Ming and behind the 7-foot-6 NBA star strode aver 500 athletes representing the host nation. Walking beside Yao was nine-year-old Ling Hao, a survivor from the devastating earthquake that rocked the Sichuan province in western China back in May.

After the parade of nations, speeches were delivered by Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Games organizing committee, Rogge and Jintao, who made the declaration of the opening of the Games.

"For a long time, China has dreamed of opening its doors and inviting the world's athletes to Beijing for the Olympic Games. Tonight that dream comes true. Congratulations, Beijing," said Rogge.

The Olympic flag was then raised as a chorus consisting of 80 children from around the world sang the Olympic anthem in Greek. Shortly after people imitated the flying motion of doves to signify the symbol of peace, the evening's final portion of lighting the torch began.



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