"China has won a gold medal from the opening ceremony of Olympic Games," said John Pordie, a 73-year-old British journalist, who was watching the opening ceremony at the London Trafalgar Square.

Tens of thousands of people from different countries of the world were gathering at the square to witness the grand opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games through a huge screen. Applause was hovering in the air, together with groups of pigeons.

"This is the most amazing that I have ever seen. This is magnificent and it is almost unbelievable. Chinese people are so clever and they can imagine such a wonderful idea. Every single piece is so good," he said.

Fireworks at the opening ceremony lighted the passions of young people in the square. They shouted, sang and danced to express their passions and best wishes for the games.

Many Chinese students studying in UK, held Chinese national flag and cried loud with the words of "China, come on" and "Olympic, come on."

Rourke, who was in her 60s and came to the square from Scotland with her husband, said that the opening ceremony was so wonderful that she could not imagine. She appreciated that China could hold such a high-level opening ceremony for the world and wished that China could win more gold medals. She also hoped that British athletes could do well in Beijing.

The couple, who has been to many cities of China, such as Beijing, Wuhan and Xi'an, said China was so beautiful and these cities gave them deep impression.

Mirko Kramer, who just came from Germany to be here as a tourist, jumped and shouted when he saw athletes of his own country entering the stadium. He hoped that these German athletes could win 15 gold medals in the Beijing Olympic Games, because they were quite strong in some games. He also hoped China could win more medals.

(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2008)