The Zhang Yimou brand of "Chineseness" may or may not appeal to every Chinese. But one thing is for sure - the show that begins at 8 pm in the National Stadium, or Bird's Nest, tonight will find its way into annals of contemporary China.

For us, it is a dream come true.

The dream lasted 100 years, unfulfilled, until tonight.

China's first astronaut Yang Liwei (L) and Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games hold the Olympic torch during the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch relay ceremony outside Wumen Gate at the Forbidden City for in Beijing August 6, 2008. [Agencies]

 

"Most Chinese not only see the Olympics as important for their country, they also feel a personal connection to the Games," the US-based Pew Research Center observes.

We see such attachment from the grey-haired grandpa who has learnt English for seven years on his own, hoping to help overseas guests who need directions on the street; We see it from the national and Olympic flags on passing vehicles, in people's hands, and on their faces...

Some read the enthusiasm as China's eagerness to announce its comeback (a "coming-out", as some foreigners put it) to the world stage. As the world's fourth largest economy, our presence is too obvious to entail that.

It is impossible to miss the historic coincidence of the Games happening on the 30th anniversary of reform and opening, which has permanently transformed China.

How things have changed over the years! Were it not for Deng Xiaoping's resolute calls for reforms to be bolder and faster, the country might still be bogged down in ideological wrangles.

No debates. Cross the river by feeling the stones. Deng's no-nonsense approach, faithfully inherited thereafter, has made seemingly impossible breakthroughs possible.

The reward is conspicuous in numbers. Continuous double-digit growth. Two-hundred million lifted from abject poverty. World's largest foreign exchange reserve.

Not just expanding cities and extending highways. Landmarks being constantly refreshed across the country.

When George Macartney, the first British envoy to China, arrived in 1793, the declining Qing empire, a giant with "feet of clay" in Macartney's eyes, completely ignored progress outside and arrogantly considered itself the center of the world. Today a harmony-minded China is open to befriend the world.

China does not buy Western models of democracy. Yet people here are free to choose their job, spouse, place of residence, and way of life. The judiciary adopts presumption of innocence. And the government aims at "good governance", and "government in sunlight".

An 8.0 magnitude earthquake killed more than 240,000 people in Tangshan, Hebei province on July 28, 1976. Official figures of casualties were not released until after three years. And the government declined foreign aid offers. When the Wenchuan tremor struck, we were inundated by 24-hour live coverage. And overseas aid was promptly accepted with gratitude.

Of course, China is not always seen as it is.

Some people like mysteries. So China becomes "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma", to borrow Samuel Johnson's famous witticism in another context.

Overseas media love dissidents. So China becomes "a land of sorrow" where people are claimed to be abused under "a repressive regime", or "a dull place" where the individual "has no freedom or private life".

Macartney said in 1794 that "nothing can be more deceptive than to judge China by European standards," and today his words continue to hold as true.

People complain but "the Chinese people express extraordinary levels of satisfaction with the way things are going in their country and with their nation's economy", concludes the Pew Global Attitudes survey. China ranks No 1 among 24 countries on both measures in the survey.

In masterminding the International Olympic Committee, the great Pierre de Coubertin saw sports' role in promoting understanding. So do organizers of the Beijing Games.