Olympics open with 29,000 bangs: 08-08-2008
Intrepid travellers heading east this year are likely to see the benefits of the 2008 Olympic Games first hand, if Beijing or China as a whole is on the itinerary.
The Games have encouraged China to improve its appeal across the board, meaning better transport and hotels and a nation generally more open to receiving foreigners.
The Olympics kick-off today, the eighth day of the eighth month of the eighth year, at eight minutes past eight PM local time.
As many may know, the number eight is considered lucky in China, and the organisers will hope that this proves so for the games.
In the most spectacular opening ceremony in the event's history, more than 5,000 years of Chinese history was crammed into just over three hours with a massive 29,000 fireworks lighting up the Beijing sky.
With a bill mooted to be over £60 million and House of Flying Daggers choreographing the occasion, the opening ceremony was always bound to be a sight to behold.
As the benefits of the Olympics trickle down throughout the city and the rest of the nation, there could never be a better time to visit China.