The Great Wall

The Great Wall

Beijing is a famous oriental city with profound history and splendid culture. You will be captivated by the magnificent Forbidden City, the scenic Summer Palace, the majestic Great Wall and the artistic Yuanmingyuan Garden. The tours to these scenic historical sites after watching the Olympic Games will surely leave you many fond memories of this trip.

For further information, please visit the corresponding column on the official website of the Beijing Tourism Administration.

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The Olympic Rings

"These five rings -- blue, yellow, black, green and red -- represent the five parts of the world now encompassed by Olympism and ready to compete against each other. Moreover, the six colours (including the white background) thus combined represent those of all nations, without exception. The blue and yellow of Sweden, the blue and white of Greece, the French, English, American, German, Belgian, Italian and Hungarian tricolours, the yellow and red of Spain are side by side with the new Brazilian and Australian flags, the old Japan and the new China. It is a true international emblem."
Coubertin (Selected Writings II, p. 460, 1913). Dreambox 500c
As an image of Olympism, Coubertin thought the rings had deep significance: that of the union between men. He multiplied the image to create a total of five rings. He designed and commissioned the Olympic flag to mark the 20th anniversary of the IOC's founding, on 23rd June 1914 in Paris. Coubertin never said nor wrote that he saw a link between the colours of the rings and the continents. For him, the five rings represented the union of the five continents, but the colours were merely those that appeared in all the different national flags at the time.
-- The results of a survey carried out in six countries (Australia, Germany, India, Japan, Great Britain and the USA) in 1995 showed that 92% of those questioned correctly identified the Olympic rings, which made them the most-recognised symbol. They were followed by the McDonald's and Shell emblems (88%), Mercedes (74%) and the United Nations (36%). (SRI Sponsorship Research International). PCGA-BP2NX
-- 86% of those questioned associated the Olympic rings with the world's greatest sports event: the Olympic Games. (SRI Sponsorship Research International, 1995).

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Tan and Wells on Olympic music

Great minds think alike: Tan and Wells on Olympic music

Video: Interview with Tan Dun and Robert Wells

(BEIJING, August 5) -- Both Academy Award winner Tan Dun and world-renowned pianist Robert Wells agree: Beijing's Olympic music must have Chinese tones.

The two composers were on hand on Tuesday to talk about their cooperation and involvement in creating Olympic music to be used for demonstration events and medal ceremonies during the 2008 Summer Games. Pandora Battery


Tan relied on his philosophical instinct to guide him in his compositions, contemplating how thousands of years ago, the Chinese used traditional ways to spiritually present great honors to the people. He went back 2,400 years in Chinese history to bring back the original sound of chromatic gold bells and combined this instrument with a brand-new one -- jade chimes -- to "create harmony through instrumentation." According to Tan, the two instruments share the same wavelength, or have the same yuan fen, which, in traditional Chinese belief, is a kind of fate that brings people together.


World-renowned pianist Robert Wells
Interestingly enough, gold and jade are also the same two elements that make up the Olympic medals to be awarded at Beijing's Olympic Games.

Tan was invited to work on Olympic music after Olympic officials attended a dress rehearsal for an opera that the composer was conducting in New York.

Wells likes to keep it simple, using only five tones, the same number as the Olympic rings, when writing music. He incorporated his interest in rock and roll and classical music in his composition but couldn't find the right Chinese spirit to add to it, until he met with Tan.

Robert Wells on his Olympic compositions
Wells believes that Olympic music must be positive and "wake people up." It's about people all around the world getting together in friendship, he continued. PA3107U-1BRS



Everyone dreams about someday writing music for the Olympics, said Wells. As such, two years ago, when he heard about the competition soliciting songs for the Games, he jumped at the chance. The musician was invited to perform in front of the Forbidden City on August 8, 2007, as part of the celebration for the one-year countdown to the Beijing Games. Now, he is known as one of the main composers for medal ceremony music for Beijing 2008.

Wells concluded the interview by expressing his happiness for the Chinese nation for having been awarded the honor of hosting the great sports event. "We wish the best, best luck in the Olympics," he said.

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