Gao Peng, the lead drummer on "Harmony: Hearts Beating as One", comes from the Art Troupe of the Beijing Disabled Person's Federation. I was told that he'd learned the Chinese drum for five years to capture his excellent sense of rhythm. As the recommender, to be honest, I had no idea of whether he was qualified for the performance; but I wished him success after he trained for two to three months. He began percussion training soon after arriving in Shanghai, at the end of July. The performance was by no means an easy job. He was required to play the drum at 120 to 130 beats per minute, and he would become the first-ever drum major. That was something to worry about: for example, he never plays the Western-style drum; he had a poor memory; and he knew nothing about sheet music. In the beginning, he was frustrated and cried, for he thought it was too hard to do it. We always comforted and encouraged him. He gradually readjusted himself to new ways of playing, and practiced extremely hard. He overcame his fear during the rehearsals, and his performance at the ceremony finally received high praise.

Wu Fangmiao, the obstacle athlete in the Skill Section, has brain paralysis. During rehearsals, he always dropped down from the "obstacle", played on by students from a Wushu school in Henan Province. Everyone was worried about him. But he has a strong will; he would say sorry to everyone after dropping and continue to try his best. It moved everyone to tears; and everyone cheered for him. In fact, the Skill Section of the ceremony aims to present the spirit of individuals with intellectual disabilities, individuals realizing their potential and the value of life. So the ordinary performers were encouraged not to aid, but to protect him. There was no doubt that the success of the Skill Section would depend on Wu's efforts.

Moreover, we underwent a scientific training course from experts, which included the designs for training plans and psychological consultation for each lead performer. We also invited students majoring in special education in East China Normal University, as volunteers to help the lead performers.

The opening ceremony production team comprises people from China, the United States, the UK, Germany, etc. Were there any problems between the Chinese and the foreigners? How did you handle them?

Don Mischer, a renowned American producer and director, was pronounced executive producer and director of the opening ceremony in April 2006; his team is thoroughly experienced in live events and production. I joined the team in July last year and took charge of market research, the buildup of the creative and production team, communication with foreigners, rehearsals, etc. The Chinese team is young, creative, and professional.

The ultimate goal of the production team as a whole is to get the opening ceremony done perfectly. However, it's inevitable that people from different cultural backgrounds will have disputes. Generally, the information that foreigners have about the situation and culture in China is limited, despite their rich experience in international event production. Fortunately, disputes get resolved as long as both sides stick to mutual understanding and communication. Take music as an example. The Chinese tend to decide on the music before arranging the dancing; the foreigners decide the style demo first, and then produce the music demo, and finally decide on the choreography based on the range of a dancer on the stage. It was proved that the efficiency of their method was greater and it could lower the risk of randomly changes. We've learnt something valuable from them.

How do you feel about your role in all of this?

The opening ceremony would not have been as wonderful without Don Mischer's ideas. We didn't follow the traditional way; we adopted neither the mass-people strategy nor a high-tech strategy. Rather, we created a new way, because we were confident about the content of the ceremony. The key to our success can be attributed to a combination of international management experience and the localization strategy, where team spirit plays a crucial role.

As for myself, over the past 15 months, my heart and soul have been purified through frequent contact with individuals with intellectual disabilities. You will find that their smiles are pure and genuine.

Profile of Wang Kanghong

Wang joined CCTV in 1985, where he served as editor, journalist and channel producer. By the end of 1992, he went to Hong Kong as a CCTV accredited journalist, where he produced the documentary 100 Years of Hong Kong. From 1998 to 2001, he served as producer and general director of the yearly TV specials, New Year Gala and Mid-Autumn Gala. He became the board chairman and general manager of Beijing Kuman Culture Communication Company in 2004 and participated in the planning and operation of CCTV documentaries, including Recovering the Yangtze River and Ten Years of Hong Kong.

Backgrounder: Special Olympics and China

Special Olympics World Games can trace its beginning to July 20, 1968. Today, Special Olympics is an international non-profit organization dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition.

Special Olympics China was formed on June 17, 1985. With over half a million Special Olympics athletes and events all over the country, China is the fastest developing Special Olympics Program in the world. In 2002, Shanghai, the largest city in China, won the bid for holding the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games. It is the first time that Special Olympics held in Asia. Some 7,500 athletes from more than 160 countries and regions participate in 25 Olympic-type and demonstration sports.