China leaps onto world stage in style

By Paul Majendie BEIJING (Reuters) - A legion of 2,008 drummers pounded out a hypnotic beat that rumbled like thunder, their red drumsticks glowing in a darkened Bird's Nest stadium. It was the perfect countdown to a spectacular Olympic opening ceremony on Friday that showcased one of the world's oldest civilisations. In the land that invented gunpowder, fireworks exploded around the arena and then erupted across the heart of Beijing. Twenty-nine colossal "footprints of fire" shot into the sky and "marched" through the city to Tiananmen Square in a dazzling, rolling display of pyrotechnics. It was like a giant army of lights stamping across the heavens. The vast cast -- wave upon wave of humanity -- chanted a famous Confucian greeting: "Friends have come from afar, how happy we are." Flying acrobats soared like fairies... [read full story]