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China opens its long-sought Olympics spectacularly

By DAVID CRARY
Associated Press Writer

BEIJING (AP) -- China didn't just walk onto the world stage. It soared over it. At last playing its long-sought role as Olympic host, China opened the Summer Games in spectacular fashion Friday with an extravaganza of fireworks and pageantry dramatizing its ascendance as a global power.

Disasters, environmental problems and human-rights disputes preceded the games, and questions abound about how they will unfold. But for an evening, at least for the 91,000 people packed into the new National Stadium, it was an interlude of fervor and magic - capped by the spellbinding sight of a skywalking, torchbearing gymnast floating around the stadium's top rim before sending a torrent of fire upward to light the Olympic flame.

Scores of world leaders were on hand, and the potential TV audience was 4 billion worldwide for what was certainly the costliest and probably the largest opening ceremony in Olympic history.

The centerpiece was the parade of athletes, climaxing with the entry of the 639-strong Chinese team. Its flag-bearer was basketball idol Yao Ming, accompanied by 9-year-old schoolboy Lin Hao, a survivor of May's devastating earthquake in Sichuan province.

A chanting, flag-waving crowd gave a thunderous welcome, and erupted again a few moments later when President Hu Jintao declared the games open.

President Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin were among the glittering roster of notables who endured heat and humidity to watch China make this bold declaration that it had arrived. Bush, rebuked by China after he raised human-rights concerns this week, is the first U.S. president to attend an Olympics on foreign soil.

Already an economic powerhouse, China is given a good chance of overtaking the U.S. atop the gold-medal standings with its legions of athletes trained intensely since childhood. One dramatic showdown will be in women's gymnastics, where the U.S. and Chinese teams are co-favorites; in the pool, Chinese divers and U.S. swimmers are expected to dominate.

The run-up to the games had powerful story lines - China investing $40 billion to build Olympic infrastructure, reeling from the Sichuan earthquake, struggling right through Friday to diminish the stubborn smog that enveloped the stadium, known as the Bird's Nest. China's detentions of political activists, its crackdown on uprisings in Tibet and its economic ties to Sudan - home of the war-torn Darfur region - fueled persistent criticisms from human rights groups and calls for an Olympic boycott.

Second-guessed for awarding the games to Beijing seven years ago, the International Olympic Committee stood firmly by its decision. It was time, the committee said, to bring the games to the homeland of 1.3 billion people, a fifth of humanity.

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

Rogge mentioned the earthquake, saying the world was moved "by the great courage and solidarity of the Chinese people." And he exhorted the assembled athletes, as role models for the world's youth, to "reject doping and cheating."

The story presented in Friday's pageantry sought to distill 5,000 years of Chinese history - featuring everything from the Great Wall to opera puppets to astronauts, and highlighting achievements in art, music and science. Roughly 15,000 people were in the cast and crew, all under the direction of Zhang Yimou, whose early films often ran afoul of government censors for their blunt portrayals of China's problems.

He produced some majestic and ethereal imagery. At the start, 2,008 drummers beat out a pulsating rhythm with their hands. Later, a huge, translucent globe emerged from the stadium floor, and acrobats floated magically around it to the accompaniment of the games' theme song, "One World, One Dream."

It ended sensationally, when China's first Olympic superstar, former triple gymnastics gold medalist Li Ning, was hoisted by wires to the top of the stadium, circled the circumference as though he were spacewalking and then touched the torch to a thin pipe, setting off a spiral of flame to ignite the mammoth, scroll-shaped cauldron overlooking Beijing.

Li, now 44, whose six medals total at Los Angeles in 1984 signaled China's intention to be a sports powerhouse, admitted to being nervous about "the best memory of my life."

"This is a glorious but also huge task for anyone," he said. "I should never let the dream of all the Chinese people down. That was why I was nervous."

Li had trained for his part for a month. "The biggest problem is the wind," he said. "Every time I must balance myself in the air and hold the torch as close to the cauldron gas outlet. But every time the wind blew in different directions."

There were no such problems Friday, and when it was over, Li basked in his success. "That moment," he proclaimed, "means China is standing side by side with the rest of the world."

The show's script steered clear of modern politics - there were no references to Chairman Mao and the class struggle, nor to the more recent conflicts and controversies.

A record 204 delegations paraded their athletes through the stadium - superstars such as tennis great Roger Federer and basketball's Kobe Bryant, as well as plucky underdogs from Iraq, Afghanistan and other embattled lands. The nations marched not in the traditional alphabetical order but in a sequence based on the number of strokes it takes to write their names in Chinese. The exceptions were Greece, birthplace of the Olympics, which was given its traditional place at the start, and the Chinese team, which lined up last.

The U.S. team - second-largest after China's with nearly 600 members - was welcomed loudly, with many in the crowd recognizing Bryant and other basketball stars who brought up the rear. Bush rose from his VIP seat to wave at the athletes, nattily dressed in white trousers, blue blazers, red-white-and-blue-striped ties and white caps.

"It was a breathtaking experience walking into the stadium," said Oganna Nnamani, a volleyball player from Bloomington, Ill. "I am thankful to be part of this moment."

"This is the biggest stage," said LeBron James, who hopes to lead the U.S. basketball team to a gold medal.

Among the flag-bearers were basketball stars Dirk Nowitzki of Germany and Manu Ginobili of Argentina, and South African swimmer Nathalie Du Toit, who lost her lower left leg in an accident and made history by qualifying for both the able-bodied games and the Paralympics.

The American flag-bearer was 1,500-meter runner Lopez Lomong, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, who spent a decade of his youth in a refugee camp in Kenya. He's a member of the Team Darfur coalition, representing athletes opposed to China's support for Sudan. On Friday he avoided any criticism and said the Chinese "have been great putting all these things together."

Abroad, human rights activists were less generous.

"The Chinese government and the International Olympic Committee have wasted a historic opportunity to use the Beijing Games to make real progress on human rights in China," said Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch.

Few Olympics-related disturbances were reported in China. But in Katmandu, Nepal, hundreds of Tibetan exiles demonstrated outside the Chinese embassy, demanding an end to what they say is Beijing's brutal rule. In Turkey, an anti-China protester set himself on fire.

By all indications, the Chinese have overwhelmingly embraced the games, buying up tickets at a record pace, volunteering by the thousands for Olympic duties, nursing expectations of triumphs by their home team.

To their eyes, the omens were good. The ceremony began at 8 p.m. on the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008 - auspicious in a country where eight is the luckiest number.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

我的翻译，花了一个下午和半个晚上

中国期盼已久的北京奥运华丽开幕

作者：美联社记者 大卫.克瑞希

北京（美联社）--中国不只是登上了国际舞台，而且高昂的站立着。最后作为万众期待的奥运主办方的角色，中国在热闹时尚的周五用狂放的焰火和盛大的戏剧表演开始了此界夏季奥运会。中国上升成为全球性的势力。

在奥运开始之前的灾害，环境问题和人权纠纷，让人们对中国将如果开幕奥运充满了疑问。但是对于这个夜晚，对于装进至少91000人的新国家体育馆，那些只是热诚和魔力之间的小插曲。在体育馆上层边沿充满魅力的空中跑步后，持火炬的前体操运动员悬浮在体育馆顶部边缘点燃了火种，火流向上升起，点亮了奥林匹克圣火。

世界上的许多国家领导人到场观看，本届奥运会开幕式是在奥运会历史上花费肯定是最多的，也极有可能是场面最大的，潜在的电视观众则达到全球40亿。

会场中央是运动员集中区，伴随中国队639人的强大阵容的入场现场氛围达到高潮。中国队的旗手为篮球明星姚明，随同其左右的是从5月四川地震中幸存的年仅9岁的学生林浩。

人们摇旗呐喊的热烈欢迎，在胡锦涛主席宣布奥运正式开幕后才渐渐平息。

在到场的名人目录中闪亮的两位贵宾，美国总统布什和俄国总理普金忍受着热度和湿气观看中国作出奥运开幕的盛大宣言。上周提出关注人权并指责中国的布什是第一个走出国门参加奥运的美国总统。

作为一个经济强国，中国有很好的机会超越美国成为到达金牌榜的第一位，因为中国拥有一大批从小密集训练的运动员。作为中国和美国的传统强项，女子体操比赛将是一场引人瞩目的较量。在泳池中，中国跳水队和美国游泳队也期待各自的好成绩。

奥运会的前期筹备具有很强大的故事性，中国投资了400亿元兴建奥运基础设施。从四川大地震，努力减少包围“鸟巢”体育场的顽固烟尘直到周五奥运开幕。中国的拘留的政治活动家，其打击对起义，在西藏的经济联系，以苏丹-家饱受战争蹂躏的达尔富尔地区问题-燃料的持续批评，人权团体和要求对北京奥运的抵制。

有人质疑北京七年前获得的奥运主办权，国际奥委会会坚定的维护他们的决定，奥委会说，现在是时候把奥林匹克带到有13亿人民拥有世界五分之一人口的国家。

“在相当长的时间里，中国梦想打开大门，邀请世界各国的运动员来北京参加奥运会。”国际奥委会主席罗格在讲话中说：“今晚！梦想成真”

罗格提到四川地震，他说世界被中国人民巨大的勇气和团结所感动 。同时他告诫运动员，为全球青年作出榜样， “拒绝兴奋剂和作弊”

周五辉煌的演出追溯了中国5000年的历史，包括所有的辉煌，从长城到传统戏剧木偶，并突出了在艺术，音乐和科学方面的成就。大约15000人一起担任了演绎阵容，并且都在张艺谋导演的总指挥下完成了演出，张艺谋导演的早期电影总是受到电影审查员的批评，说他着重描述了中国的落后和愚昧。

他创造了一些雄壮和飘逸的意像，在开始时，2008个鼓手用他们的双掌敲击出振奋人心的节奏。后来，一个巨大的，半透明的，围绕着走动的杂技演员的地球模型从地板下升起来，并奏响了此次奥运会的主题曲：“一个世界，同一个梦想"

表演完美的结束了，当中国第一个奥运巨星，三届奥运体操金牌得主李宁，被悬吊在体育场的上方，他在空中转了一个角度在空中跑步，后来，他用火炬接触了用来点燃火炬的薄管，并点燃了它，螺旋式的火种上升，点燃了主火炬，鸟瞰了整个北京。

李，现在44岁，其六面奖牌都是在1984年洛杉矶赢得的，标志着中国的意图是成为一个体育强国，承认紧张是因为“这是我生活中最好的记忆”

“这是一个光荣，但也艰巨的任务，对任何人来说。 ”他说。 “我绝不应让梦想的全体中国人民的失望。这就是为什么我紧张” 。

李已训练了他的一部分一个月了。 “最大的问题是，风， ”他说。 “每一次我必须在空中平衡自己，并举起火炬密切向对天然气出口，但每一次风总是将火种引向不同的方向” 。

在周五并没有出现这样的问题，当仪式结束，李在享受他的成功。 “那一刻， ”他宣布， “意味着中国正与世界并肩站在一起！” 。

开幕式的脚本，带有明确的现代政治理念，没有提到毛主席和阶级斗争，也没有很多最近的冲突和争论。

创记录的204个国家的运动员走进了体育场，有很多体坛巨星，如网球伟大的费德勒和篮球的科比，以及勇敢的underdogs从伊拉克，阿富汗和其他在危机四伏的土地上前来参加奥运。参赛国家的入场顺序，不是传统的按字母顺序排列，但在序列的基础上，按照他们国家的中文壁画的多少。例外的是希腊作为奥运会的诞生地第一个入场，这是开幕式的传统，中国队作为东道主，最后一个出场。

美国队在中国之后的第二大代表团拥有近600名成员，受到了热烈欢迎，许多观众在人群中认出了科比和其他篮球明星，他们走在了后方。布什从他的贵宾席位站起来，向运动员挥手致意， 美国代表团身着白色长裤，蓝色上衣，红白和蓝色条纹的领带和白色鸭舌帽。

“走进体育场是一个激动人心的时刻，”oganna nnamani来自于伊利诺州的排球运动员说： “我很感谢能成为这里的一部分，在这一刻” 。

“这是一个最大的舞台！”希望带领美国男篮摘取金牌的詹姆斯说。

在各国的旗手当中有篮球明星诺维茨基，德国和吉诺比利，阿根廷，南非游泳选手娜塔莉杜to她失去了她的左下腿，在一个事故中，并创造了历史，有资格参加四肢健全人的奥运会及残奥会。

美国国旗的旗手是1500米亚军洛佩兹，是一个失落的苏丹男孩，花了十年时间在一个难民营，在肯尼亚。他是达尔富尔联盟研究小组成员之一，一个为苏丹代表运动员反对中国的组织。上周五，他避免了任何的批评并说，“中国已把所有这些东西完美的融合在一起” 。

在国外，人权活动分子没有那么慷慨。

“中国政府和国际奥林匹克委员会已经浪费了一个历史性机会，利用北京奥运会取得对中国的人权的真正进展。 ”Sophie Richardson人权观察组织说。

一些与奥运有关的骚乱，根据中国的报道。在加德满都，尼泊尔，数百名西藏流亡者在中国驻美使馆外，要求结束他们说是北京的残暴统治。在土耳其，一反中国示威者引火自焚。

由种种迹象表明，中国在奥运上有压倒性的胜利，门票销售创造了纪录，成千上万的志愿者为奥运忙碌，成功的运行才是主队真正的期望。

他们的眼中，前兆良好。仪式开始，晚上八时在第八天的第八个月的2008年-吉祥，在中国八是最幸运的号码。

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