A grand fireworks display, scores of flying acrobats, hoards of dancing dragons and a cast of thousands - these are some of the things the world can expect to see at the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games.
Though rehearsals have already started, under director Zhang Yimou, only those involved know what exactly China's biggest gala would be like on Aug 8.
Zhang's mission is to condense 5,000 years of Chinese history into a 50-minute show. And given his razzle-dazzle oeuvre, the featured men and beasts are likely to be surrounded by brilliant colors and geometric shapes.
"The fact that China has achieved so much in one generation is so extraordinary, we can't compute it," key ceremony advisor Ric Birch told China Daily. "There has never been an equivalent, so we have no benchmarks.
"All these issues come together for me in Beijing for the opening ceremony."
Birch says he was forced to flee Beijing to avoid the host of journalists who wanted to interview him.
"Now, everyone wants an interview so I left Beijing and went to Athens, Doha and currently Zaragoza (Spain) to shake off pursuit."
His hideaways include former host cities of the Olympics and the Asian Games, suggesting he might be doing the rounds to put the finishing touches on his upcoming project.
Zhang Yimou has teamed up with choreography mavericks Chen Weiya and Zhang Jigang to plan the ceremonies.
The two seek to "highlight the relation between the (stadium's) 'small sky' and the performers to display the harmony between nature and human beings," Zhang Jigang says.
