Chinaisanancientvicissitudesoflife,thereisacountry'slonghistory.Inthepastfivethousandyears,Chinahasbeenusinghissonorousandpowerfulbody,timeandagaincrossedthedangerous,Chinahaslongbeenafirmbody!Atpresent,Chinahasbecomeincreasinglystrong,andwillgraduallyclosetothedevelopingcountries.

　　China'snationaltreasures,giantpandasonlycharminglynaive,peonyandopeningupistherichestmomentoftime!

　　China!Iloveyou!

　　BeforeIintroduceourculturalprograms,Iwanttotellyouonethingfirstabout2008.You'regoingtohaveagreattimeinBeijing.

　　Chinahasitsownsportlegends.BacktoSongDynasty,aboutthe11thcentury,peoplestartedtoplayagamecalledCuju,whichisregardedastheoriginofancientfootball.Thegamewasverypopularandwomenwerealsoparticipating.Now,youwillunderstandwhyourwomenfootballteamissogoodtoday.

　　TherearealotmorewonderfulandexcitingthingswaitingforyouinNewBeijing,adynamicmodernmetropoliswith3,000yearsofculturaltreasureswovenintotheurbantapestry.AlongwiththeiconicimageryoftheForbiddenCity,theTempleofHeavenandtheGreatWall,thecityoffersanendlessmixtureoftheatres,museums,discos,allkindsofrestaurantsandshoppingmallsthatwillamazeanddelightyou.

　　Butbeyondthat,itisaplaceofmillionsoffriendlypeoplewholovetomeetpeoplefromaroundtheworld.PeopleofBeijingbelievethatthe2008OlympicGamesinBeijingwillhelptoenhancetheharmonybetweenourcultureandthediverseculturesoftheworld.TheirgratitudewillpouroutinopenexpressionsofaffectionforyouandthegreatMovementthatyouguide.

　　Withinourculturalprograms,educationandcommunicationwillreceivethehighestpriority.WeseektocreateanintellectualandsportinglegacybybroadeningtheunderstandingoftheOlympicIdealsthroughoutthecountry.

　　Culturaleventswillunfoldeachyear,from2005to2008.Wewillstagemulti-disciplinedculturalprograms,suchasconcerts,exhibitions,artcompetitionsandcampswhichwillinvolveyoungpeoplefromaroundtheworld.DuringtheOlympics,theywillbestagedintheOlympicVillageandthecityforthebenefitoftheathletes.

　　OurCeremonieswillgiveChina'sgreatest-andtheworld'sgreatestartistsastageforcelebratingthecommonaspirationsofhumanityandtheuniqueheritageofourcultureandtheOlympicMovement.

　　WithaconceptinspiredbythefamedSilkRoad,ourTorchRelaywillbreaknewground,travelingfromOlympiathroughsomeoftheoldestcivilizationsknowntoman-Greek,Roman,Egyptian,Byzantine,Mesopotamian,Persian,Arabian,IndianandChinese.Carryingthemessage"SharethePeace,SharetheOlympics,"theeternalflamewillreachnewheightsasitcrossestheHimalayasovertheworld'shighestsummit-MountQomolangma,whichisknowntomanyofyouasMt.Everest.InChina,theflamewillpassthroughTibet,crosstheYangtzeandYellowRivers,traveltheGreatWallandvisitHongKong,Macau,Taiwanandthe56ethniccommunitieswhomakeupoursociety.Onitsjourney,theflamewillbeseenbyandinspiremorehumanbeingsthananypreviousrelay.

　　IamafraidIcannotpresentthewholepictureofourculturalprogramswithinsuchashortperiodoftime.BeforeIend,letmesharewithyouonestory.Sevenhundredyearsago,amazedbyhisincredibledescriptionsofafaraway