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"We proposed July for the games but the month was full of international sport events, so we decided to go for August 8," said Sun, deputy-director of the organising committee.

He must have repeated that so many times over the years. A Chinese friend of mine said that the choice of day and time in Chinese culture is a common thing for all Chinese to do. He said the government does not want to give the impression that its decision was based on astrological beliefs.

Whether the government likes it or not, that opening date has been seized by various parties that find significance in the date. Asean leaders are very pleased because August 8 is Asean Day - the anniversary of the grouping's founding 41 years ago in Bangkok. That helps explain why all Asean leaders, including Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, will converge at the famous Bird's Nest stadium on that day to rub shoulders with leaders from more than 80 countries, who have confirmed Beijing's invitation. More VIPs are expected to arrive before the games start in 32 days.

One senior Asean diplomat even went as far as saying that the 10 Asean members should have an Asean flag carried alongside their national flag-holders to emphasis the importance of Asean-China relations. It would also herald a new beginning of their relations, as both sides are looking for a new paradigm to further strengthen their friendship.

In a similar vein, Asian-based political and human-rights activists said that August 8 was the same day when pro-democracy rallies broke out and subsequently crashed in 1988. If anything, they believe the opening ceremony would highlight Beijing's ongoing support for the Burmese junta.

Within China, the Olympic Games have been portrayed as an international event which China won on July 13, 2001 over Paris, Toronto, Osaka and Istanbul. Sun said with confidence that the Beijing games would be the best ever, with 205 countries taking part along with 15,000 athletes completing for 304 gold medals in 28 different sports.

Obviously, the games mean more to the Chinese government and the top echelon than they would like to admit. During the numerous press briefings for Asean journalists recently in Beijing and Qingdao - the venue hosting for sailing events - some of the following themes emerged quite readily.

First of all, China's Olympics ambitions are not new; it was a dream for more than 100 years. Officials here cited the sports magazine Tianjin Youth, published in Tianjin in 1908, that said China should hold the games. The magazine also asked when China would get its first gold medal. That dream was realised in 1984 in Los Angeles when Wu Xiaoxuan won the gold medal for sharp-shooting. Journalists often ask how many medals China expects to win. No officials would answer that question. But they simply said that in Athens in 2004, they got 32 gold medals. Sun said that if  Chinese athletes try harder, they would get the same number of gold medals. This time, China will field more than 500 athletes competing in all sports events.

Secondly, the Olympics have been used as an occasion to show the positive aspects of the 5,000-year old Chinese culture and its 1.3 billion people. The word "wen-ming" meaning "civilisation" has been used time and again to encourage the Chinese people to abandon so-called uncivilised habits such as spitting on streets, not queuing and yelling in public places. Volunteers were assigned to guide the public to queue up at bus stops or encourage passers-by not to spit on the pavement. Beijing residents have been urged to put on proper clothes throughout the 16-day games. The central and local governments have tried hard to make sure that the Chinese people can get rid of these undesirable habits forever.

According to Chen Li-xian, one of 65,000 taxi drivers in the capital city, the most difficult task for him is to converse in English because he said he does not spit and walk half-naked in short-pants. "My tongue was too hard to speak English," he said. "But I have to try. It will be my first time to speak foreign words." Chen and the rest of the taxi drivers will likely be the first group the foreigners meet.

Beijing is expected to have nearly 1 million visitors from abroad flocking into the city. A few phrases of English will certainly help to improve contact between the Chinese and foreign visitors. Chen said he has practised asking questions on climate change and engaging in short conversations about Yao Ming, the Chinese basketball star.

Finally, it is about modernity and green environment. In the past five years, Beijing's landscape has changed. Living conditions and the environment have improved.

For instance, in the first half of this year, Beijing residents enjoyed more blue-sky days than in the first half of last year. Beijing had 245 blue-sky days in 2007. As the summer games approach, the quality of air and life in general would also be better. During the games almost half of the city's 3.39 million cars will be taken from the streets.

Those who have not visited Beijing in the past five or six years would be shocked to see numerous new skyscrapers, which have been increasing rapidly in number. The most remarkable development has been the construction of 36 sports facilities and other public places such as the egg-shaped National Theatre. Both Bird's Nest and the Water Cube are currently the talk of the architectural world.

After the Olympics are long gone, thousands of children will carry the name of the Olympics with them forever. Ever since China was awarded the games, more than 4,000 new-borns, mostly male, have been named "Aoyun", the Chinese name for the Olympics.