mountains green and water blue, and finally the athletes themselves trod a rainbow of color on the painting during the team parade.

ON A ROLL: A giant scroll painting, symbol of China's invention of paper, provided the setting for a historical stroll through China'a 5,000-year civilization (PAUL KITAGAKI JR.)

"China unfurled a beautiful painting to the world, which depicted not only the traditional culture of China and the evolution of the country's history, but also the future of humankind," said Yves Pepin, head of the French entertainment group ECA2 in Life Week. "The painters were from all over the world and everyone left their mark on it-a memory you can wrap up and take home."

Lasting impression

Among the most stunning moments of performances was the demonstration of printing. A total of 897 performers hidden in gray blocks engraved with

Chinese characters rose and fell in unison, resembling movable types. Ripples of movement created the character "he" for "peace and harmony" three times in different styles, followed by an image of the Great Wall.

Without warning, the "blocks" sprouted peach blossoms-a symbol of spring, the season of hope, prosperity and wealth in China, and performers from their cocoons waved to the crowd.

Jane Macartney, a correspondent with The Times in Beijing, interpreted the message in her story Olympics: the power and the glory-China leaves world awestruck as "the shock and awe of China's Olympics-the most expensive in history at $43 billion-do not portend the arrival of a country that could menace the world."

Printing in China dates back to the Song Dynasty (960-1276) when Bi Sheng invented movable-type printing in 1040, more than 400 years earlier than it appeared in Europe. Bi accomplished a significant revolution in the history of printing, because all later printing methods such as wooden type, copper type and lead type printing were developed on the basis of his movable clay types.

Navigating history

During the "Silk Road" performance, a dancer emerged holding an ancient compass in his hand. Dancers surrounding him wielded huge painted paddles to recreate the maritime expeditions of the 15th-century Chinese mariner, Zheng He.

The Silk Road was an important passage for economic and cultural exchanges between China and Western countries during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).