The Beijing Olympics opening ceremony on Friday featured two major heritage sites, the Great Wall and the Silk Road.

In the "Writing" part of the performances, the Great Wall was demonstrated by smooth lines, both concise and vivid.

The Great Wall was built as defence works after Emperor Qin Shi Huang united China. Later generations kept expanding it and in the Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall stretched 6,700 kilometers from Jiayuguan Pass in the west to Shanhaiguan Pass in the east.

The ancient Silk Road was part of the performances, with a map and cultural symbols along the road on the ground.

The Silk Road refers to the land passage opened when Zhang Qian was sent to the Western Regions on a diplomatic mission in the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-25 AD), starting from today's Xi'an, via Gansu and Xinjiang, to central and western Asia and connecting the Mediterranean countries.

Silk, a traditional Chinese product, was typical among the commodities traded along the route.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2008)