BEIJING -- All Beijing citizens have not watched the moment of lighting up the Olympic flame vie the TV broadcast, while they celebrated it in different ways to impress the same excitement.
"The Olympic Flame! We'll wait it here right in the Bird Nest," said engineer Rong Zhihong, who climbs every day on the in-construction National Stadium, nicknamed the Bird Nest with its unique outline, and covers the job of washing its roof.
"I knew exactly the time when the Olympic flame lit up and longed for the moment very much. But my job won't let me leave to watch it vie the TV. Maybe I'll follow it later through the internet or tomorrow's newspaper reports," she added.
Most of her colleagues had no time to see the broadcast of the flame lighting up ceremony as the construction of the National Stadium gears up ahead of the Olympic test event in April.
"Constructors here run day to night and they all give the best wishes to the torch relay and the coming Games with effective work," said Zhou Jie, a senior official of the Bird Nest's construction company.
Participants in the organizations of the Beijing Olympic Games, due on August 8-24, held special feelings towards the flame lighting moment.
"The Olympic flame launched the torch relay, the Beijing Games is coming closer, and our job enters the new phrase. We'll go all out for it," said Dong Su, the vice photo manager of the Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games (BOCOG) media service team.
Zhao Dongcai, one of the Beijing Olympic torch designers, echoed that she and her volunteer mates have all been ready for serving the Games.
"I could not be more excited and honored to see the torch designed by our team lit up in Ancient Olympia," she said.
"I hope the Games come to open here in Beijing, the sooner the better, and let me give the best service to athletes and officials from all over the world and show them how warm-hearted and friendly the Beijingers are," Zhao added.
The Olympic flame lighting ceremony also spirited the commons in Beijing.
"It will arrive at Beijing in over 100 days to open the Games and I hope friends from foreign countries and regions could take residence in my house," said citizen Wang Qi whose family live in the Asian Games Village, very near to the central Olympic sites.
Applause and cheers could be heard anywhere putting on a TV and people in shopping malls crowded in front of every counter selling TV sets to watch the broadcast of the ceremony.
"It recalled me the moment when Beijing won the bid to host the 2008 Games," said Yang Yu, an internet technology worker in Beijing. "We've looked forward to the Olympics for seven years and it's finally coming soon."
