Olympic spirit catching fire in Lintong

As the Olympic torch relay crosses China, its 5,000-year old civilization is catching fire with the 3,000-year old Olympic spirit.

In the ancient district of Lintong in Xi'an city of Shaanxi province, a birthplace of Chinese civilization, locals declared to the world "we are ready for the 2008 Olympics" during a ceremony on April 30 marking the 100-day countdown.

The flame is scheduled to reach Xi'an on July 7 on its way to the August 8 Olympics and on August 29 on its way to the Paralympics.

About 10,000 local residents gathered at Lintong's terracotta warriors and horses international square to express their support through impassioned singing and dancing.

With a rousing performance of the Qin terracotta army dance, the ceremony began.

The Nishang Yuyi song of eternal love about Tang Emperor Xuanzong and his concubine Yang Guifei was met with great applause.

Honored guests of the event were honorary Chinese Olympic Committee President He Zhenliang and his wife. He is also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the chairman of IOC's cultural and education board.

"As a participant in Beijing's two-time bid for the Olympics, I would like to forward my heartfelt thanks to Xi'an's people for their tremendous support of the Beijing Games," He said.

"During the biding process, a number of IOC members visited Xi'an and they were greatly touched by its people's hospitality, the ancient Chinese capital's rich history and culture, and particularly the unique terracotta warriors and horses - as well as the rapid development of modern Xi'an," he said.

"Xi'an helped us win the support of many IOC members and made important contributions to Beijing's successful Olympic bid," he said.

He also praised Xi'an's activities to welcome the Games.

"The activities on one hand show the warm feeling of local people and support for the Olympics and on the other hand introduce to the world traditional Chinese culture and treasures," he said.

Ren Junhao, Party secretary of Lintong district, said "the activities will further stimulate enthusiasm to help create a more favorable environment for the coming Beijing Olympics.

Lintong has held "Towards the Olympics" activities since April.

On April 25 it hosted the Silver City Cup mountain climbing contest that included scaling Lishan Mountain as well as international marathon trials on the 15-meter-wide Xi'an city wall.

More than 10,000 people joined the activities, both improving their fitness and enhancing athletic awareness of ordinary people.

Efforts have also further spread Olympic culture in Lintong.

A campaign called "carrying forward the etiquette of Qin (221-206 BC) and Tang (618-907) dynasties to greet the Olympics" aims to improve civil behavior in local people and improve tourist services, enhance the surrounding environment and improve security and market order.

The district began a program for "100 days without security incidents" and overhauled the prices, organization and quality of markets. The measure also strengthened processes for handling customer complaints to better protect the rights and interests of locals and tourists.

Cultural projects

Lintong is also promoting its three major cultural projects - Qin Wind, Tang Rhyme and Royal Spa.

The Qin Wind project at the Jiuzhou Grand Theater is staging the Qin Dynasty's song and dance show "The Emperor" under noted director Zhang Yimou. A terracotta warriors village will be built nearby to showcase the daily life and folk arts of Qin people 2,000 years ago.

The Tang Rhyme project is turning scenic areas of Lishan Mountain into a Tang village. At an investment of 160 million yuan by the Lintong district government, the project has turned Lishan Mountain greener and brighter through planting more trees and installing more street lamps.

The drama Everlasting Regret will be performed depicting the love story of Emperor Xuanzong and his concubine Yang Guifei amid large-scale landscapes.

The Royal Spa project will improve service quality at the hot spring. Ten new hotels, including the East Garden Hot Spring Hotel and the Platinum Spa Hotel, are under construction and expected to be operational one or two months before the Olympic Games.

Lintong is also training the tour guides, building an emergency rescue center, recruiting a number of workers who understand foreign languages, establishing a reception center and installing street signs in English.

(China Daily 05/13/2008 page20)