Life

Shows that shone

By Raymond Zhou and Chen Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-28 08:04

Asian Games opening ceremony

Expectation was low for the Asiad opening ceremony in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. Who could top the 2008 Beijing show, which had all the world talking? But Chen Weiya deserves plaudits for his second outing. He was one of the three "masters" behind the Beijing show, and this time he was the lone helmsman.

The show wisely used water as the running theme, echoing the previous Asiad show four years earlier in Doha and epitomizing the southern Chinese city where trade with the outside world was initiated along the Pearl River. Most Asian nations also have a close affinity with water. The giant sails were a visual feat.