I picked up China in 2008: A Year of Great Significance, a compilation of stories edited by Kate Merkel-Hess, Kenneth L. Pomeranz, and Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom, after I returned from China in 2019. The 2008 Olympics seemed so far away, and yet my cousins gifted me 2008 Olympics key chain momenta. At major attractions, Chinese speaking tour guides often made references to developments and rehabilitated neighborhoods using the 2008 Olympics as a measuring stick. I realized then, that the 2008 Olympics was a monumental common point of reference for the Chinese, as hugely significant as September 11 or Kennedy’s assassination to Americans, where life before and life after was severed by that one single event. Some of the key terms such as “blue sky” day, volunteerism and internationalism have long lasting effects on the people in Beijing. Some popular ticketed shows on sale then, were excerpts from various Olympics related performances. The spirit of rejoining the world although it was initially mandated, had taken hold in the hearts of the Chinese people. (To read more, go to Can Friendliness be Mandated?) Afterall, after 2008, China became a regular host of World Expos and Asian Games.
Image downloaded from https://www.olympic.org/beijing-2008
