By Mara Schiavocampo, Nightly News digital correspondent
I can't tell you anything specific about the Olympic Opening Ceremony, because they haven't aired yet in the US. But I can tell you this: they're spectacular. This is my first Olympics, so one might assume that I'm just easy to please. But I overheard some of my veteran colleagues talking about how the ceremonies were among the best they've seen. It's really a fantastic show.
I watched it along with the locals here in Beijing, those who couldn't get into the stadium, but celebrated wildly nonetheless. The Olympic spirit really is alive and well here. People were in such a good mood all night, watching the ceremonies, smiling, drinking, laughing and taking pictures of fireworks with the enthusiasm of children. And there was lots of good-natured ribbing between people from different countries in the streets. So if you can catch the ceremonies tonight you definitely should. They might just put you in a festive mood.
video:In the streets of China, a celebration
Qian Li looked a little nervous as she walked arm in arm with her groom, passed a long row of fish tanks and into the packed restaurant. Her friends and family clapped and cheered, shouting encouragement and wishing them a life of love and happiness.
It was a few hours before the opening of the Olympic games, in the southern suburbs of Beijing, and the smiles on their faces suggested the happy couple was pretty confident of good fortune. After all, it was the eighth of the eighth of the eighth, and they had deliberately chosen the date.
Banquet halls across Beijing have been booked for months; more than 16,000 couples in Beijing alone tied the knot Friday, some simply because it was the Olympics; most because the number eight is regarded as a lucky number, a number they associate with wealth and prosperity. And 08-08-08 comes around only once every hundred years.
"It's great to have all the numbers linked together," Qian Li told me. "We will have a happy life."
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By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
We're tough on the airlines around here, as you may know, but we had a rare treat en route here: a commercial airline experience that was absolutely excellent in every way. We flew from LaGuardia to Dulles to catch a direct United flight to Beijing, and I can't remember when I had such a pleasurable flight or met quite so many nice people.
Beginning with the United ground staff at Dulles, and continuing on board with the best bunch of veteran flight attendants I've met in years, it started off our trip to Beijing in spectacular fashion.
The airport here in Beijing is a sight to behold, as is much of downtown Beijing. It hasn't been that long since Nixon's visit to this country, and I remember so well being glued to the coverage of the American President's trip--to Peking. So many things were changing, and there was so much we didn't know then.
Today, it is oppressively hot, and all of our people on the ground say the air quality is worse today than at any other time recently. You can feel it on your skin, you can feel it in your eyes. Our workspace is across from the "bird's nest" stadium, which all but dissapears into--the air. CONTINUED >>
By Mara Schiavocampo, Nightly News digital correspondent
Wednesday morning I boarded a flight to Beijing for the Olympic Games. The plane was full of others heading to China for the same reason; passengers included athletes, family members and journalists. People were excited, as though the flight was headed to a big party (which in a lot of ways, it was). The flight attendants waved American flags and led the plane in a round of applause for the athletes. My seat mate, a first time Track & Field Olympian told me about how going to the Olympics was always a dream, but one she never thought would come true. The Olympic spirit was alive and well on that flight.
While on board I thought about all of the other planes, coming from other countries, full of people from other nations just as excited about the possibilities in front of them. The opening ceremonies will be held Friday, and then the competitions start, with dreams fulfilled and crushed. But right now, this city - and the world - are living high on anticipation, just like my fellow passengers on the flight to Beijing.
by Lester Holt, NBC News Anchor
Each day they trickle into the hotel lobby: The steady flow of NBC personnel just off their 12-13 hours flights from the states. To a person they are amazingly alert and refreshed-looking. Adrenaline and the excitement of being in a new place will do that to you. On Thursday I was one of those new arrivals, strolling into the hotel feeling pretty good. But three days into my nearly month-long assignment here I now understand those knowing smiles I got from those who have been here a while. It was that look that said, "Just wait kid."
The fact is, there is no getting around the body clock melt down that comes with a 12 hour time difference -- 15 for our west coast-based staffers. I am nodding off at the most inopportune times, and prone to the "thousand yard stare." When I come on the air live from Beijing "tonight," the sun will have just come up here "this morning." That's Sunday morning. And "last night" I did the TODAY Show from here "this morning." That would be Saturday morning. In full disclosure, I write about this not only as a point of interest but also to keep it straight in my mind.
More to the point, in my waking hours I have found Beijing to be simply remarkable. The scale of everything here seems to have been super-sized. The avenues and buildings are enormous. The Olympic venues are stunning in their design, and are particularly impressive at night when they are bathed in a changing pallet of colored lights. Those of you who caught my TODAY broadcast got a sneak peak of at least one element of Friday's opening ceremony when fireworks erupted from the Olympic stadium behind me during a rehearsal. What you couldn't see were the thousands of Chinese families who crowded the nearby streets to watch. The people here are very excited and clearly proud their city is hosting these games. And I am equally excited to be here to witness this historic event.
I'll see you live from Beijing all this weekend on Nighty News.
