Shortly after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded in Paris in 1894, a letter was sent to the Chinese government under the Qing imperial court, inviting the Chinese people to participate in the first Olympics in Athens in 1896. No reply was given from the Qing emperor. And China didn't show up for the first nine Games.

But Olympics were known to the Chinese, with it being first mentioned in a Chinese magazine in 1908.

During the tenure of the Kuomintang government, China joined the Olympic family. In 1922, Wang Zhengting became the first Chinese IOC member. In 1928, China sent the first observer to the Amsterdam Games. A breakthrough came in 1932, when a five-member delegation, including an athlete, made its debut in the Los Angeles Games. And sprinter Liu Changchun was the first Chinese athlete taking part in the Olympics. But he failed to qualify for the finals in the 100m and 200m races.

Bigger delegations were sent to the following two Olympic Games. In 1936, a 146-member team took part in the Berlin Olympics but the team didn't get any medal. In 1948, another team took part in the London Olympics, again drawing a blank. Much to its embarrassment, the team didn't get any financial support from the government and they faced enormous difficulty in getting back home. (The 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled due to World War II.)

The founding of the People's Republic of China heralded a new chapter in the country's Olympic history. In 1952, a delegation of 40 took part in the Helsinki Games.

But China didn't take part in the next few Olympics until the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid in 1980, a year after it resumed its IOC membership.

For the first time, the five-star red flag was raised and the Chinese national anthem was sung at the Olympic sports field in 1984, when Xu Haifeng won a gold metal in the men's sporting pistol shooting match. In that Games, China won 15 gold medals, 8 silver medals and 9 bronze medals.

After that, Chinese athletes kept on increasing their medal tally. China's best performance, however, was in the 2004 Athens Games. The country came second in terms of gold medals (32), only after the United States' 35.

In 1991, Beijing applied to host the 2000 Olympics, but Sydney defeated Beijing with two more ballots in 1993.

Finally, Beijing won the right to host the 2008 Olympics in 2001.

China Daily

Left: Five-star red flag is hoisted at the Olympic Village in Helsinki in 1952, the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China. CNS Right: Liu Changchun, China's first athlete taking part in the Olympics. It was in 1932.CNS

The moment 110m hurdler Liu Xiang passes the finishing line at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He won the gold medal. Xu Jingxing

(HK Edition 04/30/2008 page2)