The ancient Olympics are on display 4 km west of Tian'anmen Square, the center of Beijing.

An exhibit at the Capital Museum features, among other things, javelin and discus throwing, boxing, racing, wrestling and the long jump, accompanied by Greek plays, poems and music.

The exhibits include 166 relics dating back about 2,500 years to show the spirit of competition in ancient Greece.

"Competition was a part of ancient Greek people's lives. They cherished it as a way to improve their lives, safeguard peace and pursue equality," said Rosa Proskynitopoulou, deputy director of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Her museum loaned the relics to the Capital Museum to add a glimpse of Greek culture to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Proskynitopoulou said that unlike the modern Olympics, the ancient Olympics paid attention not only to the physical contests but also the spiritual, cultural and artistic aspects of competition.

Visitors to the exhibit will see scenes of ancient sports on painted pottery urns and the strong bodies of ancient Greek athletes portrayed in sculpture. They can even see ancient coins that depict the special respect and glory ancient Greeks showed to the game winners.

"We tried to bring the Chinese and foreign audiences some cultural flavor from the home of the ancient Olympics," said the curator of the Capital Museum, Guo Xiaoling, adding that this effort could be regarded as part of a "humanistic Olympics".

He said the museum has also opened an exhibition, titled "the Memory of China: Treasures of 5,000 Years," and three other smaller shows of Chinese relics. Those exhibitions and the Greek exhibition will together show the achievements of the two ancient civilizations.

The Greek Ambassador to China, Michael Cambanis, said that the 2008 Olympics means a lot to Greek people, because this event symbolizes the Olympic torch being delivered from the cradle of Western civilization to that of the East.

About 100 items on display are being shown for the first time outside Greece. Among all the Olympic host cities, only Atlanta and Sydney held exhibitions of the same theme, but on smaller scales.

The Chinese exhibitions highlight 1,800 relics, which were collected from more than 70 museums across the country. They date back 8,000 years and cover the outstanding artistic achievements of the Chinese nation in its agricultural civilization period.

Since the opening of the exhibitions in late July, the number of visitors to the museum increased from 5,000 to 13,000. It often took 90 minutes of waiting on line before visitors could see the "Memory of China".

"We are facing the increasing pressure of receiving large numbers of visitors," said Guo. "But the main Chinese exhibition will be open till October, so we encourage Beijing residents to visit later."

He said they were considering keeping the museum open in the evening to reduce the daytime crowds. "This might make us the first modern museum in China that opens in the evening."

He said that foreign guests make up 10 percent of the total. "This is a good opportunity for people in China and abroad to know more about Chinese civilization.

"If you want to know why Chinese have such a strong sense of patriotism and want to try their best to hold a successful Olympics, you might want to learn about how they perceive their history," Guo said.

Proskynitopoulou said: "We should build more bridges between the West and the East. This will help reduce misunderstandings and make the world more harmonious."

(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2008)