Beijing 2008 Olympics August 8-24, 2008

The Olympic flame's four-month-long Journey of Harmony culminated with a spectacular end to the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with the lighting of the cauldron just after midnight as former gymnast Li Ning, lifted into mid-air with wires after he received the Olympic flame, "ran" along the 500-meter-long brim of the Bird's Nest to reach the gigantic cauldron, which he ignited using the flame from his torch.

A large screen that mimicked an unrolling scroll that showed footage from the Torch Relay served as Li's track.
The legendary Li, who won three gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze medal at Los Angeles 1984, was the last of eight torchbearers to carry the flame in the stadium, in the last stage of the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay. He was the most decorated athlete at the Los Angeles Games, and he has since become a successful entrepreneur as a maker of Li Ning athletic apparel.

With the start of the music, Xu Haifeng, the first of the final eight torchbearers, entered from Gate 3, holding high the Olympic Torch. Xu won China's first gold medal in Olympic history in the Individual Free Pistol at Los Angeles 1984.

He and the next six torchbearers, all notable athletes -- Gao Min (Diving), Li Xiaoshuang (Gymnastics), Zhan Xugang (Weightlifting), Zhang Jun (Badminton), Chen Zhong (Taekwondo) and Sun Jinfang (Volleyball) -- make one full circuit around the stadium.

Gao was the first Chinese Olympic gold medalist in Springboard Diving; Li Xiaoshuang was the first Chinese athlete to ever claim the Individual All-Around title at the World Gymnastics Championships; both Zhang Jun and Chen Zhong are two-time Olympic champions; and Sun Jinfang helped China win the first world volleyball crown and consecutive World Cup, World Championships and Olympic titles.

The Olympic flame for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay was created at the Torch Lighting Ceremony at Olympic in Greece on March 24 and arrived in Beijing on March 31 to begin the global relay the following day. The relay covered an unprecedented 137,000 kilometers in 129 days.

Torch relay in Chengdu

The Olympic Torch Relay ended in Chengdu at 10:41 a.m., when last torchbearer Yu Zhirong, a hero of the recent Sichuan earthquake, arrived at the International Convention Center to light the cauldron. Yu is a member of the 7716 PLA unit.

He sent out three helicopters on reconnaissance missions to the cities of Mianzhu and Dujiangyan just 40 minutes after the May 12 quake hit. The first pictures of the destruction were brought back on this first mission. Yu then went on to personally open up several airways to the Sichuan area, even under difficult weather conditions.

The flame traveled 13.2 kilometers via 315 bearers from its starting point of the Chengdu Export Processing Zone.

The flame's next destination is Beijing, where it will be relayed August 6-8 before the main Olympic cauldron is lit during the Opening Ceremony.

Beijing Olympic Stadium

The National Stadium, known as the "Bird's Nest" will serve as the main venue of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. It is located in the Olympic Green and occupies 21.4 hectares. It stretches 333 meters from north to south and 298 meters from east to west, covering an area of 258,000 square meters. The National Stadium is 68 meters high and holds 91,000 seats. The opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games, Athletics and Football events will be held in it. The construction of the National Stadium began in December of 2003.

The national stadium is surrounded in a sort of membrane. Unlike China's National Aquatics Center, or "Water Cube," another Olympic venue which is also surrounded in this membrane, the Bird's Nest version is curved and double-layered, offering gracefully decorative soundproof, wind-proof, rain-proof, and even UVA protection to its already impressive body. The outer layer of membrane, completely constructed in November of 2007, was created using 884 individual ETFE panels, covering a total of 38,500 square meters. The inner layer consists of PTFE material. 1,044 panels take up 53,000 square meters of area, whose main purposes are to better the acoustics in the stadium and to support the equipment within the steel frame.This special membrane can also help lighting within the stadium and effectively diminish glare and shadowing, allowing for a more favorable competition environment.

BOCOG executives and leaders from the government of Beijing, namely Ji Lin, Li Shixiang, Liu Jingmin, Zhao Wenzhi, Yang Shu'an, Li Xiaohong, and other representatives from related departments were also present at the National Stadium's unveiling ceremony.

Courtesy : The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games