MEXICO CITY, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Games of the XXIX Olympiad were the first one to be organized by China and from the beginning they met the great expectation of becoming a memorable event due to all the colors, culture, level of competition and the investment that they represented.
The 29th Olympic Games began on Aug. 8, 2008 with the opening ceremony and came to a close on Aug. 24. The inaugural date bore a great significance for the Chinese as they consider the number eight to be lucky. The opening ceremony was watched all over the world and was considered by many to be the best inaugural events ever seen.
In Beijing's National Stadium, the light display, choreography and talent showed the world around the main milestones in Chinese culture, under the artistic direction of filmmaker Zhang Yimou.
Chinese contributions to universal culture such as paper, printing, porcelain and the compass along with icons such as the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army and the Silk Road, were all part of the spectacle filled with history and technology. Afterwards, 10,942 athletes from 204 delegations participated in the opening parade and went on to compete in 302 events.
The Olympic cauldron was lit by Chinese artistic gymnast Li Ning, whose run along the stadium's roof slowly revealed a scroll showing the Olympic Torch's journey across the world.
The Games were also memorable for the architecture. The National Stadium was re-named the "Bird's Nest" and the National Swimming Center was known as the "Water Cube" due to their avant-garde models and symbols of the new Beijing.
The "Water Cube" bore witness to one of the best Olympic achievements of all time when U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps became the athlete with the most first-place finishes at any single Olympics. He won eight gold medals at Beijing, five of them were in individual events.
During the Games, the headlines were also stolen by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who won 100 and 200 meters events, setting new world records in both. He also won and set the world record with his teammates in the 4x100 meters relay.
Bolt was the first athlete to win three golds in men's track and field at one Olympics since U.S. sprinter and long jumper Carl Lewis in 1984.
Another memorable world record was smashed by Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva, who took home the gold and the world record in pole vaulting when she cleared 5.05 meters.
Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Mauritius and Togo all experienced podium finishes for the first time during these Games. However, Mongolia, Bahrain and Panama managed to go one better with their athletes bringing home their country's first Olympic gold.
In team sports, it is worth mentioning Argentina's gold in men's soccer. The team was captained by soccer star Lionel Messi. The U.S. "dream teams" in both men's and women's basketball also took home the golds.
BEIJING 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES MEDAL TABLE
COUNTRY GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
China 51 21 28 100
U.S. 36 38 36 110
Russia 23 21 28 72
UK 19 13 15 47
Germany 16 10 15 41
Australia 14 15 17 46
South Korea 13 10 8 31
Japan 9 6 10 25
Italy 8 10 10 28
France 7 16 17 40
BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- In Beijing, a weakening cold front means that the acrid smog is likely to continue to haunt the capital.
Beijing's meteorological authorities on Saturday warned of "middle-level pollution" on Sunday, and said that air quality will improve on Monday. However, the city's air could become foul again in the two days following Monday, according to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.
By 4 p.m. Saturday, hazardous fine particulate matter PM2.5 in some Beijing areas exceeded 220 micrograms per cubic meter.
Most areas in northern China saw another day of choking smog and poor visibility on Saturday as the country renewed the orange alert for air pollution that has lasted for days.
China has a four-tier color-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
Poor visibility has caused widespread flight delays and cancellations at Beijing Capital International Airport.
After experiencing frequent bouts of smog, the Chinese public have become increasingly sensitive to the health hazard. To address public concerns, the government aims to cut the density of inhalable particulate matter by at least 10 percent in major cities by 2017.
BRUSSELS Carmelo Anthony USA Jersey , May 3 (Xinhua) -- The economic recovery across the 19-country Eurozone was better than expected in the opening quarter of this year and outpaced that of the United States, official data showed Wednesday.
The gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the single currency grew by 0.5 percent quarter on quarter between January and March Anthony Davis USA Jersey , making the annual growth rate to 1.7 percent, according to a preliminary flash estimate published by Eurostat Allen Iverson USA Jersey , the bloc's statistics agency.
The better-than-expected performance added to the evidence that Eurozone's recovery has gained momentum, beating that of the United States USA Basketball Jerseys , whose GDP expanded by 0.7 percent at an annual basis in the first quarter of this year.
Wednesday's data supported the message from earlier national data that the bloc's recovery maintained a decent pace in the first quarter, said Jack Allen Tracy McGrady USA Jersey , a European economist at the London-based Capital Economics.
Economists said the 0.5-percent quarterly expansion was broadly in line with the rate signalled by surveys such as the Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) while other activity survey painted a positive picture of sound growth in the second quarter.