Hi, my name is Ming and I am a guest blogger for Ningin.

I don’t know about the rest of you but I’ve been spending the last few days glued to NBC. Religiously watching the Olympic is a tradition for my family (my parents have never missed a single one since 1984), but this one is extra special for us because my parents are from China and just as psyched as all 1.3 billion of them back in the motherland.

For that reason there I could feel how enormous the pressure was that China pull off the best opening ceremony ever. The Chinese care about “face” like nothing else and there would never again be an opportunity quite like this to show face to the rest of the world. All questionable facelift means aside (pun intended), there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that they pulled it off.

Here is the full ceremony as recorded on BBC broken down into 6 parts:

Part 1: The director of the opening ceremony, Zhang Yimou, is arguably most famous for his large-scale martial arts epics such as Hero and The House of Flying Daggers. He even brought the composer of Hero’s score on board to arrange the music. So it is no surprise that his show opens with a scene reminiscent of troops readying for war. The 2008 drums brought together China’s most important resource (its people) and definitive attention to flawless synchronization (is it any surprise they keep sweeping synchronized diving?). This show of strength and number is followed by a complete reversal to the lightness and delicacy of a few fairies suspended around a set of Olympic rings that are lifted into the air. Closing out this section is a display of nationalist unity as 56 children representing all the ethnic groups in China bring out the flag of China. This is also point where the dubbing controversy happens (see Andrew’s post below).

Part 2: The Welcoming Section is followed by the Artistic Section, beginning with a huge LED screen representing a scroll to honor the creation of paper, one of the “Four Great Inventions.” In the center several modern dancers in all-black create a sort of virtual brush painting with their bodies, emphasizing the unity of creator and creation in Chinese artistic tradition. This sequence moves on to another invention – the movable type press. Surrounded by 3000 Confucius disciples, 897 blocks (each with a person inside as revealed at the end) move in wave-like patterns culminating in the Great Wall of China sprouting peach blossoms, the Chinese symbol for openness. Possible implications for the Great Firewall of China perhaps?

Part 3: Philosophy and art give way to theater as an array of operatic performances commences. Puppeteers are walled in by terra cotta soldiers dressed in the manner of the Monkey King. Attention turns towards the Silk Road and a lone female dancer performing a ribbon dance atop the platform supported by many, reminding us that all individual achievement rest upon the efforts of many. With this in mind the scene turns to the sea and rows of waving ship paddles to celebrate the achievements of Zheng He, who can best be described as China’s Columbus. Here we get a nod to the third great invention, the compass, as well as a precursor to the themes of openness and worldliness that will play into the later parts.

Part 4: Marching onwards with the crash course in Chinese culture, the program presents kunqu, the oldest kind of Chinese operatic singing, alongside the harp. An array of Tang Dynasty-styled women and royal dragon pillars are paraded out in a fantastic display of Zhang’s sensibilities regarding colors and costuming. More fireworks (which I think sufficiently covers China’s last great invention – gunpowder) usher in modern times and the celebrated pianist Lang Lang accompanied by a five-year old to perform a segment from the Yellow River Cantata as luminescent green performers sway in the motions of the river. The neon performers coalesce into the form of a dove, universal symbol for peace, and then into the shape of the iconic Bird’s Nest stadium as a bird kite is flown overhead.

Part 5: Tai Chi masters open this segment as a nod to China’s long tradition of martial arts and the values of inner balance espoused by Tai Chi. In a similar fashion as the drummers, 2008 Tai Chi masters form perfect concentric circles around practicing a group of school children and start practicing their moves in sync. Based on the NBC commentary and my own understanding of Chinese value systems, this was intended to emphasize that the harmony of the future rests on the next generation of young students in classrooms across China to practice environmental responsibility and protect our planet. As if education isn’t already of utmost importance to Chinese parents.

Part 6: The Artistic Section concludes with a huge orb rising out of the ground and a reference to the aeronautic strides China is seeking to make. Then the orb converts into a globe of the world upon which British singer Sarah Brightman and Chinese singer Liu Huan sing the Olympic theme song “You and Me” in both Chinese and English – appropriate for a nation whose Olympic debut is all about ushering in a new era of openness and global outreach. After more fireworks and ethnic dancing, the parade of nations begins, but in this clip you can jump that and all the speeches straight to the indescribable torch lighting ceremony.

And a fun fact to leave you all off with: Beijing fired over 1,000 rain dispersal rockets to blow away rain clouds an ensure rain would not be a problem for the opening ceremonies. As many issues as I have with the Chinese government, major props on this effort – if you can command the weather and the people and the world’s attention, what can’t you do?



28 Comments

Thank Ming this is great!

If I had missed it, this would be really helpful.

This is so great! I wasn’t able to see it that day so wow thank you for posting this!!

The videos are really good quality.

It was so long. After the drums I got bored.

Really? You missed out on a lot then.