Chinese shooting legend Xu Haifeng was once asked if he would trade the Olympic gold medal he won - China's first ever - at the 1984 Los Angeles Games for another 10 Olympic titles.

His answer was: "Absolutely not. I wouldn't even think about it.

"That gold medal is a milestone of China's Olympic development. It is part of history."

There has been a lot of talk about which Chinese athlete would take the first gold on home soil in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Games, which opened today.

Three Chinese women athletes have been under exceptional pressure since the Games' schedule was set and the national delegation was announced.

The first gold medal of this Olympics will be awarded at about 10:50 am tomorrow, the first competition day, in either the women's 10m air rifle or the women's 48kg weightlifting. So the country has placed high hopes on markswomen Du Li and Zhao Yinghui, as well as weightlifter Chen Xiexia.

Defending women's 10m air rifle champion Du achieved overnight fame in Athens after taking the Games' first gold medal with a dramatic last shot of 10.6 four years ago. Three-time Olympian Zhao, who has many major titles under her belt, is also expected to break her Olympic gold jinx after missing the title in both Sydney and Athens.

If world champion and current world No 1 Chen can achieve a fast and solid lead in the women's 48 kg weightlifting - due to take place around the same time - she will probably snatch the honor and become the national hero.

A nationwide guessing game as to who would become the legend has started, and local media have run many "first-gold" stories over the past several months.

"I have been asked the same question about the first gold so many times," Du said during the recent World Cup in Beijing.

"I seldom think about that question for my own sake, because I want to focus on my training and the competition. But the media has really put a lot of pressure on me.

"Of course, I am under greater pressure, but I am really enjoying it, because only a few athletes have the opportunity to win the first gold medal on home turf. It is a very unique and once-in-a-lifetime experience."

"If China gets the first gold medal, it will be a good beginning to the Games," said Wang Manyun, a 55-year-old traditional Chinese painter in Beijing.

"Traditional Chinese culture regards this as an auspicious omen."

According to China's Olympic tradition, one should believe a good beginning puts the country halfway to the end goal.

Chinese sharpshooter Xu Haifeng claimed the first gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and the elated squad finished fourth on the medals table with 15 titles. It was China's maiden Olympic experience, after it restored its seat on the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Chinese markswoman Du Li again took the first gold at the 2004 Athens Games in women's 10m air rifle. After that encouraging start, Chinese Olympians accomplished their best-ever performance, taking 32 golds, coming second to the United States.

"The first gold can greatly boost the morale of the Chinese delegation and provide a lot of support to other athletes, both mentally and technically," Jin Yuanpu, director of China's Humanistic Olympic Studies Center, said.

But despite the high expectations, many Chinese have come to believe they should not place too much hype on the first gold.

"Of course, all Chinese people hope China wins the first gold, but if we fail to achieve that, I don't think it's a big deal for us," Jin said.

"We Chinese are now much more mature about gold medals, because we don't need those things to prove ourselves."

Throughout the last century, Chinese people sought sources of national pride in sporting events, such as table tennis and volleyball, because the country was weak and underdeveloped. But today's China is the most-rapidly developing country and has made great achievements in many fields, he explained.

"Chinese people are becoming more and more confident, open-minded and tolerant. They no longer care as much about the number of gold medals but rather, enjoy the Olympic Games," Jin said.

Sharpshooter Xu has donated the country's first gold medal to the National Museum of China and believed his is past glory.

"We had nothing in the past, and my gold aroused a sense of national pride among our people. But a gold medal or two doesn't mean that much today," he said.