Beijing's Olympic Legacies

"Beijing has presented a wonderful Olympic Games, which can be seen a successful advertisement for China and the Chinese people," lauded Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister, when he met with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on August 20, on the sidelines of his attendance at the Games. "Beijing has set a very high standard for London to reach in its hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, but we will do our utmost to fulfill people's expectations," he added.

The scene is still vivid in people's memories, when four years ago, the Athens Olympics exposed to the world its ancient Olympian traditions and charming Aegean culture. People then exclaimed that the time-honored Greek intelligence unfolded in this Olympics could pose a great challenge to the next host country-- China, another civilization with an ancient history. In effect, they could not help but wonder, with such a perfect Olympics as a reference, what else China can do to impress the world.

It has long been a custom for host countries to create the most Olympic legacies using the host city as leverage to push forward the development in economy, culture and the society at large. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics, for instance, acted as a strong driving force for Japan's economic leap following the Second World War; and helped Japan claim a significant position in the world's economic system. In 1984, the U.S, as the host country for the Los Angeles Olympics, initiated a new concept--the Olympic Economy, which has since been adopted by all the following host countries as a basic Olympic concept. The idea of "State Public Relations" was first ushered in at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, and South Korea has since evolved from a developing country into an emerging and later booming economy.

What can Beijing leave to the world?

The question loomed ahead even when the International Olympic Committee awarded the Olympic bid to Beijing in 2001. What on earth helped Beijing beat other powerful competitors and win the bid?

"In addition to Beijing's capacity as a successful host, people feel more intrigued with its great potential, as nobody can envision what Beijing will be like seven years later. The unpredictability will largely augment people's curiosity in the potential paybacks that Beijing could bring to the world," said a then IOC officer.

The clouds of doubt dissipated on August 8, when the symbolic scroll of a Chinese painting was unfurled before people's eyes at the opening ceremony, shedding light on a perfect match of China's ancient civilization and modern science and technology. Facing the fine spectacle, people on site and in front of TV screen were to be convinced that China has huge potentials to be tapped into both in theory and in reality.

Some Western media remarked that "compared with China's entry into the WTO, hosting the Olympics will open a green channel for China to have all-round dialogue with the West. China's current robust economy will be conducive to global economic development.'

With three days remaining before the closing of the Olympics, many people have experienced great emotional shock for the duration of the Games; and have altered their old perspectives of China. It is more than possible that the misunderstandings born from the indigestion of the Chinese culture will be shaken, if not erased totally, from many people's mind.

China is now endeavoring to build a modern "silk road" linking all cultures, religions and ethnicities with great effort and sincerity.

By People's Daily Online