What a show! There was a lot riding on the opening ceremony, and I think we can safely say the Chinese pulled it off.
Young Chinese are showing off their patriotism
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For us foreigners, it was an amazing spectacle, brilliantly done - my favourite bit was the rippling square of Chinese characters, which formed all sorts of shapes, including the character for harmony (I'm still trying to figure out how they co-ordinated everything).
For the Chinese we were with, it was a evening of intense pride. I spent the first part of the ceremony with a family in their small apartment - three generations living together in a tiny place, gathered on the sofa in front of the TV to watch what they described as the most important event of their lives.
They sang along with the national anthem, were spellbound by some of the images in the stadium, and unfurled a giant Chinese flag and stuck it above the TV. Their two year old daughter Anna joined the excitement, dancing along to the music, and chanting "Zhongguo jiayou, Auyun jiayou" (Go China, go the Olympics).
Later in the evening, I joined Rebecca and Mark at Fish Nation, the restaurant they'd been broadcasting from. A packed room cheered the Chinese team (they were the loudest, Mark blogged on the WHYS blog about who else got cheered here), oohed and aahed when Li Ning took to the air and ran a lap of the rim of the stadium, and then took the roof off with their cheers when he lit the flame.
Some people were close to tears with pride - people say they've waited one hundred years for this, so for many it was overwhelming to realise that this moment had finally arrived.
People often talk about Chinese nationalism, and they way that foreign criticism can spark an intense and sometimes frightening reaction from some Chinese. But what we saw last night was a much gentler patriotism, the kind you could never fear.
It reminded me of when I was in Germany for the football world cup, and Germans felt for the first time in a long time they could wave their flag and be proud. You couldn't begrudge them, it was done with a warmth that was easy to embrace.
It was the same in Beijing last night.
The ceremony was brilliant, beautiful, moving ... all it was missing was a sense of humour. Judging by the shots of po-faced party officials that were interspersed into the coverage, I'm fairly sure the fun policy comes from the top.
Sydney had its lawnmowers ... surely Beijing could have had an iconic image to raise a smile. We've racked our brains, and think there should have been a Beijing belly segment.
It's stinking hot here, and when the temperature rises, so do men's shirts. They're rolled up to chest level to let the midriff aerate, and the belly is proudly paraded on the streets.
Come on Zhang Yimou, surely any theatrical spectacle would be enlivened by a troupe of 20 foot inflatable men, singlets hoisted high, ample waistlines on display. With apologies to Ang Lee, you could call it Heaving Belly, Hidden Sixpack - any takers?
