ART ADDS BEAUTY TO OLYMPICS：An interview with myo Khin. gold prize winner of Olympic fine Arts 2008

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is a sports gala for all mankind and a celebration to showcase the best of Chinese and foreign cultures. In August, the opening ceremony and the award- granting ceremony of ＂Olympic Fine Arts 2008＂ took place in China International Exhibition Center. This event attracted enthusiastic participation by artists from across the world. With their painting brushes, these outstanding artists portrayed strength and passion of athletes and expressed the spirit of Olympics, highlighting the theme of ＂art adds beauty to Olympics＂.     

Safeguard the Purity of the Olympic Spirit

As the Olympic mascots ＂Five Friendlies＂ were released, the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is approaching us. The anti-doping of the 2008 Olympics shall be undertaken by China Doping Test Center, whose performance at the 1990 Asia Games has been generally recognized and praised. However, the much larger scale of the Olympics will prove that the anti-doping task in 2008 will be much more difficult and complicated. Recently, the staff journalist interviewed fellow researcher Du Lijun from the sports medicine institute of the State Administration of Sports and his colleague Prof. Wu Moutian who just came back from the Durino Winter Olympics.     

Paint on the Great Wall, Embrace the Olympics

Early in August, on Badaling Pass of the Great Wall in the northern suburb of Beijing, 500 children from Hong Kong and 200 children from Beijing participated in the opening ceremony of “Paint on the Great Wall, Embrace the Olympics”, a large-scale cultural exchange event jointly sponsored by Chinese Cultural Ministry, Beijing Municipality and Hong Kong Civil Service Bureau.     

Chinese Seal：the Beijing 2008 Olympics Emblem

The Beijing 2008 Olympics emblem was finally unveiled. It was shown to the public at the solemn ceremony held at 8:30 p.m. August 3, 2003 in the park of Temple of Heaven, Beijing. When a Chinese statesman and an official of the International Olympic Committee     

National Indoor Stadium： A Fan Unfolds

National Indoor Stadium of China is one of the three main venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Located in the southern part of the Olympic Green, the National Indoor Stadium joins the group of landmark structures in the area, including the National Aquatics Center to the south and the National Convention Center to the north. It consists of a main structure, a warm-up gym nearby and other outdoor facilites, with a seating capacity of 18,000. The National Indoor Stadium will be the competition venue for the Olympic Artistic Gymnastics, Trampoline, and Handball competitions and the Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball competition.     

Hutong： Alleyways of Change in Contemporary Beijing

Beijing‘s successful bid for the 2008 Olympics has speeded up the city‘s expansion and renovation in an unprecedented way. The city‘s ambitious plan for rehabbing the old sections of town is well underway, with narrow roads being widened and run-down houses demolished. Local residents who have lived for years in dilapidated siheyuan (traditional courtyard houses) are moving into modern, spacious new apartments in the suburbs.     

OLYMPIC HOST CITY EMBRACES A BIG TRAVEL BOOM

Exhibitors and buyers from more than 80 countries and regions as well as from 24 provinces and municipalities of China brought their best-tailored, up-to-date tourism products to trade at Beijing International Tourism Exposition 2007 （BITE） which took place from June 21 to 23 in Boijing Exhibition Center. With the 2008 Beijing Olympics coming up in one year, China＇s tourism industry is expected to heat up significantly, during which BITE 2007 definitely serves as the vital link between the Chinese and the vibrant global tourism industry in the years to come.     

COLLECTION ＆ AUCTION

Auction Celebrating the 1 st Anniversary of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Held
In order to celebrate the 1 st anniversary of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, an auction was recently held, with such valuable objects as the barbell kissed by Olympic gold medalist Zhang Xiangxlang, the world＇s large canvas used for the preparation of the Olympic opening ceremony, the Olympic torch with the autography of Samaranch as well as furniture and other gifts related to the Beijing Olympics. Over the past year after the conclusion of the 2008 summer Olympics, 25 auctions have been held, with more than 700,000 Olympic-related objects sold.     

Olympics-fired Economy Requires Regional Cooperation

Some predict that hosting the 2008 Olympics will help Beijing realize its aim of basic modernization two years ahead of schedule, with a GDP per capita ofUS$ 6,000. But without the economic growth of neighboring cities as a means of support, Beijing will have difficulty in achieving its goal to become a truly international city. Therefore, according     

Tolerance and Harmony： Chinese Culture and 2008 Olympics Beijing

“People‘s Olympics“, one of the slogans of 2008 Olympics Beijing, represents the core of Chinese culture -tolerance and harmony. In fact, the Olympics spirit“sports means peace“ accords to values of Chinese nation.     

Arts Galas Add Glamour to the 2008 Olympics

The concept of ＂Cultural Olympics＂ will be highlighted at the summer Olympics Games in Beijing, In the coming two months, a series of cultural events will be staged to welcome the once-four-year global sports gala that wilt take place in the capital city of China, including such diverse art forms as drama, music, fine arts, folk arts and film,     

＂New Beijing, New Olympics＂ Displayed in Sydney

The annual Sydney Royal Agriculture Exposition took place in the Olympic Park last April, one of the large-scale public events organized by Sydney Municipal Government which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. At the exposition this year, the exhibition ＂New Beijing, New Olympics＂, co-organized by the State Information Office of China and the Information Office of Beijing Municipality, was displayed, which added much glamour to the event.     

Memory of China:5000 Years of Civilization

The Olympic Games is not only a sports event but also offer a great chance for cultural exchange. In celebration of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Capital Museum hosted a grand exhibition Memory of China： 5000 Years of Civilization, aiming to showcase the brilliant Chinese history and culture to the people from the rest of the world.     

Showcasing the Spirit of the Olympics through Art

The exhibition of ＂Olympic Fine Arts 2008＂ opened in Beijing International Exhibition Center on August 11 in celebration of the 29th Olympic Games. The event was initiated by the International Olympic Committee and co-organized by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and the Organizing Committee of Beijing Olympic Games. With the theme of ＂China and the world＂ and the slogan of ＂Art makes Olympics better＂, this international gala for art precisely expressed and continued the spirit and concept of ＂Olympic Contest for Sports and Art＂, an event that was held in Sydney and Athens respectively,     

Cai Guoqiang： I Want to Believe

For Cai Guoqiang, August 2008 means a time full of not only challenge but also grace. As the chief designer of fire display for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Cai demonstrated his aesthetics of gun powder in front of more than 4 billion viewers from across the world. Also in this month, his solo exhibition Cai Guoqiang： I Want To Believe＂ was opened in Beijing, which was co-presented by the National Art Museum of China, Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Center of International Cultural Exchange. Beijing was the second leg of this globa tour. Its exhibition tn Guggenheim in the first half of this year was acclaimed as one of the important cultural events in the world. From February to May,Gugcjenheim moved out all the exhibits, including Picasso＇s, and all its three storeys of exhibition space were used to display Cai＇s works created over the past two decades.     

Drama on Olympic Scale

Beijing turns into a stage as a world-class theater festival unfolds to enchant audiences. Theater lovers are rushing from one venue to another as the 6th Theatre Olympics shifts into high gear in Beijing. While thunderous applause is filling the houses, people are emerging scratching their heads and raising sharp questions in conversations atter the shows. A festive mood permeates the Chinese capital, a metropolis so mammoth as to threaten to drown out any such activities.     

OLD SHOPS IN QIANMEN EMBRACES NEW LIFE

Qianmen, located on the southern section of the north-south axis line of Beijing, is known as the most traditional shopping street with the richness of street culture in Beijing. It is the pool of many century-old shops and restaurants which have survived and prospered over the sweep of history with their excellence in quality and service.     

Beijing Olympics-Themed Gala Stages in Hollywood

On March 3, just before the Chinese Lantern Festival, some 500 performers from Beijing staged a large paradein the Hollywood Boulevard in an ettort to snowcase traditional Chinese culture to the American public and promote the 2008 summer Olympics,which will be held in Beijing next year. The parade, as part of the cultural event entitled “Experience Beijing Culture in Los Angeles”, attracted much local media coverage. The World Journal reported that “The art and culture from China look so integrated and well coordinated with the Hollywood Boulevard, a svmbol of America＇s film and TV industry.” Recently, the staff reporter had an interview with the event＇s chief director Mr. Li Jicheng.[第一段]     

Polish Olympic Stamps and Chopin Posters Displayed in Beijing

The exhibition ＂Olympic Stamps from Polish Chopin＇s Hometown＂, a major event of Culture Festival, was held from May 18 to June 2 in Boyi Gallery in Beijing. This exhibition, in celebration of the 2008 Olympics and ever-growing cultural ties between China and Poland, was coorganized by Chinese Cultural Ministry and Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, in partnership with the Center of International Cultural Exchange, China ＆. World Cultural Exchange magazine and Adama Mickiewicza Institute.     

New Beijing Planetarium Features Ancient, Modern Marvels

The new Beijing Planetarium opened to the public on Dec. 12, 2004. Equipped with world-class chronometer devices, the new planetarium consists of the old Beijing Planetarium and ancient Beijing Astronomical Observatory as well as several popular science bases outside, dubbed as one of the leading planetariums in the world. The facility is one of the 60 key construction projects in China‘s capital.