BEIJING, Aug. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- As the global sports gala in Athens draws to a close in a couple of days, the attention of the whole world will be focused on Beijing, the 2008 Olympic host. At the closing ceremony on August 29th, China will take hold of the Olympic flag from Athens and give an 8-minute performance, showcasing the best of Chinese culture.

    China's show is part of the closing ceremony of the Athens Olympics. Leading director Zhang Yimou is the general director of the show. Four years ago the director's Beijing Olympic bid promotional video showed the world a dynamic China rich in unique traditions as well as modern trends. This time Zhang is about to impress the world again in 8 minutes.

    "To be frank, with a history of 5,000 years, Chinese culture is just too much for us to deal with. And our picks for the show are very simple: the accepted representational pieces of our culture. "

    The show will be composed of traditional music and dances, Chinese martial arts and Peking Operas. The color red, which has strong symbolic meaning in Chinese culture, will be the main color used in the show.

    "The show will focus on Chinese traditional arts and culture as well as Beijing's great hospitality and hopes for a reunion in 2008."

    The performers all come from art academies or professional troupes with average age of less than 20. Of them, the youngest is only 5.

    "Jasmine flower¡­Welcome to Beijing."

    "I'm very excited and well prepared. I'm confident that we'll put on a good show."

    "You can figure out how we feel taking part in such grand activities. And it's like the beginning of the journey to the 2008 Olympics. We've been longing to show how terrific we are."

    In one part of the show, 28 boys from a martial arts school near Shaolin Temple, China's martial arts shrine, will perform their stunts on stilts with red lanterns in hand. Kung Fu and red lanterns will easily remind film-goers of scenes from Zhang's films like Hero and Raise the Red Lantern.

    Ye Jintian, winner of Oscar's best artistic director for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, will be responsible for the art and costume design of the show.

    (CRIENGLISH.com)