Still a year away, the Beijing Olympics are poised to be the grandest Games of all. This has been called "China's Century," and the games will reflect the country's lofty ambitions when they open on August 8, 2008 -- a watershed of sports, politics and theater set on a stage designed by China's communist government."This is not a simple sports event at all," said Tu Mingde, a vice president of the Chinese Olympic Committee and a key member of the winning bid committee. "Its meaning surpasses the importance of sports itself."
Nothing shows the striving better than the 91,000-seat National Stadium, the striking centerpiece that rises abruptly above the ancient capital. Known as the "Bird's Nest," it's a mammoth mass of twisted steel girders, a radical design that melds tons of sharp edges -- resembling silver twigs -- into a smooth bowl that soars 300 feet above the spread of the Olympic Green below. (See some of the venues China has built for the 2008 Olympics)
China has longed for this spotlight, and it's holding nothing back.
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