History-making swimmer Natalie du Toit led the South African squad into the National Stadium in Friday's Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

Du Toit, whose left leg was amputated in 2001, will be the first athlete to compete against able-bodied competitors at the Games.

Tears of pride, joy

"I'm definitely going to cry," said Liang Yanfang, her voice choking with emotion. "We've waited so long for this — a hundred years."

There was joy and excitement for hundreds of millions of Chinese on Friday as the long-awaited dream of hosting the Olympics began. But for many like Liang, there was also incredible pride in a nation emerging from the shadows.

"We have been waiting a long time for this," said Zhao Guohui, a businessman who travelled to the capital from far-away Heilongjiang province in the northeast of China.

"We hope the Olympic Games will bring China closer to the world and will show the world that China is strong and has stood up," he said.

The symbolism could hardly have been more vivid. Under the portrait of Mao Zedong, Communist China's founder, masses thronged to celebrate a new China — more open to a world in which it has more clout than ever before.

Mao's portrait hangs over Tiananmen Square -- site of a brutal repression of a democracy protest in 1989. But while the history is far from gotten, these Games for many are a sign of a new China with a newfound place in the world.

As one popular T-shirt put it: "I love China more than ever."

Strong words from critics

In every part of Beijing, there were revellers from every China, as the world's most populous nation celebrated a Games that critics say they should never have been given the right to host.

"We squeezed some time out even though we were extremely busy," said Wang Zuyuan, a 58-year-old teacher who made the long pilgrimage from the distant city of Taiyuan with his wife.

"Our car broke down so we took a coach instead to come here," he said. "It took us seven hours, but we simply had to be here to feel the Olympics. Watching TV is totally different from being here in person."

Despite the safety concerns that have seen authorities but thousands of police and security forces in the streets, the mood was joyous and proud — a night of cheers and even tears of joy.

Hawkers at Tiananmen Square sold Chinese flags as well as stickers that read: "I Love China!"

Screens were set up across Beijing to show the spectactular opening ceremony, and when the national anthem played, everyone stood up in honour.

Afterward, people in the crowd screamed: "Go China, Go China!"

The throng applauded, as if to say they knew their vast nation was already going — indeed, already on the way.

AFP