This Day, That Year

Editor's note: This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up policy.

Ten years ago, on Aug 8, the Olympic flag was raised in China for the first time as the 2008 Beijing Summer Games got under way. Since then, the country has seen a huge growth in the number of people involved in sporting activities, as the legacy of the event lives on.

The Organizing Committee for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games was established on Dec 13, 2001. An item from July 16, 2001, in China Daily shows that Beijing residents were at that moment ready to share the happiness and the spirit of the Olympics with the rest of the world.