Beijing 2008 Olympic games begun at 8:00pm August 8th. Chinese President Hu Jintao declared open the 29th summer Olympic Games of Beijing in the National Stadium in north Beijing on the night.

The Opening Ceremony began with the last minute countdown, a roar of thunder came from the floor of the National Stadium where 2,008 drummers beat line after line of fou, an ancient Chinese percussion instrument. The drummers chanted as they struck the fou, "Friends have come from afar, how happy we are." This phrase comes from the work of Confucius, one of China's most important educators and thinkers.

Beijing Olympic organizers dazzled an audience of 91,000 at the Bird's Nest stadium and another estimated 4 billion watching on television Friday with a colorful, imaginative opening ceremony that bridged ancient and modern Chinese history.

By tradition, the Greek Athletes led the 204 competing National Olympic Committees (NOC) teams into the stadium in a marching order dictated by the order of strokes in each country's Chinese name. The Chinese delegation was the last to enter the stadium. Chinese flag bearer Yao Ming, accompanied by Ling Hao, a 9-year-old survivor from the Sichuan earthquake, led the Chinese delegation into the stadium.

The most exciting moment was the igniting part, the Olympic flame's four-month-long Journey of Harmony culminated with a spectacular end to the Opening Ceremony with the lighting of the cauldron just after midnight as former gymnast Li Ning, lifted into mid-air with wires after he received the Olympic flame, "ran" along the 500-meter-long brim of the Bird's Nest to reach the gigantic cauldron, which he ignited using the flame from his torch. A large screen that mimicked an unrolling scroll that showed footage from the Torch Relay served as Li's track.

During the next 17 days, Olympic Games took place in 37 different venues. A grand total of 302 Olympic medals (302 gold medals, 303 silver medals and 353 bronze medals)were won by athletes from 81 countries and areas. The top 10 nations on the Overall Medal Standings were USA, China, Russia, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Korea, Japan and Italy.

The Closing Ceremony of 29th Olympic Games was held at the night of August 24. The most impressive performance was the "memory tower" performance which took place on a 20-meter high tower. At the opening scene of the second chapter of the Closing Ceremony performance, the "memory tower" rose slowly from beneath the stadium floor. The breathtaking performance featured climbers who climbed up the tower in less than twenty seconds and then slid down with lightening speed. This was a performance born out of the sweat, tears, and intelligence of the Closing Ceremony creative team. It would leave the audience more room for imagination. The fact that more than 300 actors from the army climbed the tower empty-handed symbolizes the fighting spirit of all human beings.