YeinJee's Asian blog

Asian Culture, Lifestyle and Entertainment

Zhang Yimou

Beijing Paralympic Games is ON

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The Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games opened last Saturady (Sept 6) and will run till September 17. Didn’t manage to catch the opening ceremony live; I don’t think it’s shown on my local channels… had to catch the clips from Youtube instead.

I am not sure about international media… but my local press are not giving much attention to the event, which is a pity because although its popularity is non comparable to Olympic Games, Paralympics is still one of the largest worldwide sporting events and features some amazing athletes.

Well, at least the Chinese organiser seems to be working hard to make the Paralympics a successful event as well. The opening ceremony, again directed by Zhang Yimou, was quite a splendid show; and the Chinese media are giving the games some decent coverage too. Kudos for all that.

Check out the Beijing 2008 Paralympics’ official website for information and updates. Check out this link for some opening ceremony’s photos.

Beijing Olympics roundup (5)

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Some random news about the Beijing Olympics…

Liu Yan the injured dancer

26-year-old Liu Yan, a renowned Chinese classical dancers, was supposed to be one of the stars at the Olympics opening cerremony… but lady luck was not on her side, as she was badly injured during a rehearsal on July 27.

Chinese dancer Liu Yan injured in Beijing Olympics rehearsal
The opening ceremony directors visiting Liu in hospital (Image via Sina)

Liu was rushed to the hospital after falling from a three metre stage. Her spine was badly injured, and her lower body paralysed. It’s feared that she might not be able to walk again without assistance. Best wishes from us here.

[Read more…] about Beijing Olympics roundup (5)

Beijing Olympics opening ceremony – my thoughts

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So, what do you think about the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on Friday night? It’s a decent show for me; not great, but nice.

The ceremony started off well. The fou (the drum like instrument) performance managed to draw the crowds’ attention, the giant footsteps’ fireworks were cool, and the countdown managed to boost the mood very well.

Then came the splendid fireworks, followed by the formalities of flag raising and national anthem singing.

The masterpiece of the show was revealed after that… the giant paper scroll, which was quite captivating at first. The initial performances still managed to keep me in front on the TV, but things started to turn boring for a few reasons…

[Read more…] about Beijing Olympics opening ceremony – my thoughts

Beijing Olympics roundup (2)

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A few more hours to go before the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics. Some random news and information about Olympics and happenings in Beijing…

2008-08-08 8.08pm

The number ‘8’ is seen as a symbol of prosperity for Chinese. The Beijing organisers are optimising their wish for prosperity to the max obviously… by running the opening ceremony on 8.08pm, on the 8th of August, 2008.

Renowned director Zhang Yimou and choreographer Zhang Jigang are the co-directors for tonight’s show at the Beijing National Stadium.

It’s still a mystery on who will light the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony. It’s heavily rumoured that gymnastic legend Li Ning will take the honour; we’ll see how true the speculations are.

[Read more…] about Beijing Olympics roundup (2)