A personal account of a nation's tryst with 8

Still in my 50s, I'm enjoying my sixth year with 8.

I've gone through 1958, 1968, 1978, 1988, and 1998. All interesting and memorable, while the current one, 2008, is the most eventful and colorful.

Each of the six years with 8 seems to leave its marks on the nation's history and together they demonstrate great changes we and our People's Republic have undergone in the past six decades.