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On May 15, 2001, after assessing the five applicant cities, the International Olympic Committee pointed out that if Beijing succeeded in winning the bid to host the 29th Olympic Games, it would leave a very unique heritage.

The unique heritage is 5,000 year-old Chinese culture. Beijing which became the host city of the 29th Olympic Games has seen the Olympics penetrated with China’s “He” (harmonious) spirits.

“Of the four ancient civilizations, all disappeared except China,” said British historian Arnold Toynbee in ‘Study of History’. This is evidence of ancient China’s tough characteristics and long, interesting history.

Chinese writer Feng Jicai emphasized that, “As an ancient oriental country, China needs to carve its culture, spirit and soul into Olympic history.” The Olympics is an international stage and as global attention has been drawn to China, it has a now-or-never opportunity to promote itself and its culture. Lu Guishan, a professor from Renmin University of China, argued that the Beijing Olympiad is a platform through which the world gets to know China. 97-year-old oriental cultural scholar, Ji Xianlin, once spoke of the connotations of the Cultural Olympiad, “The Olympiad combines two things together: One is to promote China’s splendid culture, the other is to learn from splendid foreign culture.” Moreover, Chinese culture and the achievements of the past 30 years of reform and opening up will be introduced to the world through the Olympics.

Ancient China had a fantastic, unique culture. In the 13th century, ‘Travels of Marco Polo’ brought a rich, civilized and prosperous China to the westerners, at the time China seemed to be a miracle. In the 14th century, a book of travels, said to be written by Sir John Mandeville, added to China’s mystery. The two books led to western navigational and geographical discoveries. During the 16th-18th centuries, China had been a place the westerners longed for. French philosopher Voltaire mentioned that European countries should take notice of what is going on in the east, especially of Chinese ideologies.