Olympic Games begin in Beijing

BEIJING: An ecstatic China, an ancient nation so determined to be modern, finally got its Olympic moment on Friday night.With world leaders watching from inside the latticed shell of the National Stadium, the 2008 Beijing Olympics began with an opening ceremony of soaring fireworks, lavish spectacle and Chinese national pride.At 8 p.m. on the eighth day of the eighth month - eight being a lucky number in China - the world looked toward Beijing and the 91,000 people inside the National Stadium.

The $100 million budget for the opening ceremony, which is directed by China's most famous film director, Zhang Yimou, is only a fraction of the estimated $43 billion that China has spent in building roads, stadiums, parks and subway lines in an attempt trying to transform Beijing into an Olympic city.The elaborate production for the opening ceremony included 15,000 performers and a three-part performance focused partly on China's long history and its desire for goodwill with the rest of the world.