Smiling faces of the workers of the Olympic projects. [IOC]

BEIJING -- An eight-month exhibition on the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is being held at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, where the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is located.

On February 6, the eve of the lunar New Year, a grand opening ceremony was held, with the ribbon cut by Hain Verbruggen, chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing Olympic Games; Chinese Ambassador to Switzerland Zhu Bangzao; and Lausanne Mayor Daniel Brelaz. The mascots of the Beijing Olympics and a dragon and lion dance performance featured the ceremony.

The exhibition will be a chance to discover both modern China with the Olympic Games acting as a catalyst, and traditional China, the IOC said.

Speaking about the development of sports in China, the IOC said China invented and adopted a wide variety of sports and games (qigong, martial arts, archery, polo and football); that in the 1970s, it played a major role in the Sino-American relations. People can find out about sport and those who practice it in modern China, and the history of Olympic sports in China.

The visitors can discover Town Planning & Architecture and Environment at the other area. Town Planning & Architecture reveal the Forbidden City, the inner city and the outer city, with models of the Olympic venues and an explanation of how the Games are a part of the planning of the city and combine futuristic development with ancestral symbolism.

A film specially created by the Beijing City Planning Exhibition Hall traces the urban history of Beijing, from the Forbidden City to the Olympic venues.

During their visit, the audiences would stop to watch a film, discover an object or text and listen to or look at exclusive audio and photographic documents.

Art performances, symposiums, knowledge contests and other cultural activities will also be held to offer the visitors of different ages with different cultural backgrounds from different circles an opportunity to interact.

Parallel to the exhibition, a vast program of educational and cultural events will take place in five main phases, from February 6 to October 16 in 2008.