A shower of 600,000 red leaves, a lawn dotted with 360,000 flowers, a collection of 100,000 post cards, and a mute dialogue between a girl and a flame. Together, they created the most beautiful, romantic and emotional scenes one could ever imagine.
And this was how China bid farewell to the 12-day Beijing 2008 Paralympics on Wednesday night, when its 40-day mission to host the world, beginning on Aug. 8 with the Beijing Olympics opening, also ended with it.
Basking in the glory and pride of staging two successful Games in a row, the country has set its eyes on the future, expecting a better tomorrow for itself and the world at large, as indicated by the Games theme of "One World, One Dream."
The word "future," shaped in both Chinese and English by fireworks, shone over the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, in north Beijing, as International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Philip Craven declared the Games closed and the Paralympic flag was lowered.
"These are the greatest Paralympic Games ever," said Craven in his closing speech.
Dubbed "A Letter to the Future," the 1.5-hour closing ceremony gave a pleasant surprise to all its participants, with nearly 1,000 postmen and postwomen inviting every athlete, spectator and journalist in the stadium to write down their blessings and wishes on a post card specially designed for the occasion.
The cards, over 100,000 in all, were then cast into dozens of post boxes laid on the track, waiting to be "mailed to the future." They will in fact be delivered gratis to their destinations worldwide by China Post the next day.
But more unexpected was the way the Games cauldron was doused. The entire crowd held their breath, as a 10-year-old girl with hearing impairment appeared on the central stage and used sign language to conduct a soundless dialogue with the burning flame atop the Bird's Nest.
"Sacred flame, can you see that you are burning in my heart? Sacred flame, can you hear that I'm singing for you?" For several minutes, the girl kept "saying" it with her hands, while the flame went out slowly under her affectionate gaze.
Meanwhile, a "full moon," symbolizing completeness and lasting memory, rose in the stadium. Dressed in glittering golden costumes as Bodhisattva, or the goddess of mercy in Chinese Buddhism, 126 deaf dancers joined the girl to express by hand their undying passion for the flame.
"May this holy flame, lit with passion, turn into a rainbow that will link all people with friendship and convey love to all people," said Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG), at the ceremony.
Starting to burn on Sept. 6 in the same cauldron that had kept the Beijing Olympic flame for 16 days in August, the Paralympic flame has witnessed numerous people -- particularly the athletes, volunteers and organizers -- strive hard to make the Games as splendid and successful as its able-bodied version.
In pursuit of this "Two Games with Equal Splendor" goal, a record 4,000-plus athletes competed in the spirit of transcendence and integration, and 147 delegations fought for glory on the medal table, with China, Britain and the United States sitting in the top three eventually.
