Overjoyed Chinese cheered and applauded in front of their TVs at home, beneath big screens in bustling city squares or in remote villages on Friday night, sharing the passion and glory of the long-anticipated Olympic Games as they opened in Beijing.

    The glittering opening ceremony inside the new National Stadium, or Bird's Nest, in the capital, was witnessed by more than 100,000 in the stands and by billions in China and around the world as it was live broadcast.

    Many people interviewed by Xinhua said they felt honored and proud that their country was finally able to host the biggest sports event in the world.

    Thousands of local residents gathered beneath a giant screen at Shangxiajiu Square in Guangzhou, in southern China, to watch the opening ceremony. Many wore T-shirts saying "I Love China" and "Go, China" and many of their faces were painted with Olympic symbols.

Photo taken on Aug. 8, 2008 shows the fireworks of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games held in the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in north Beijing, China. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

    At one dormitory in Guangzhou, more than 100 laborers from rural areas gathered to watch the event on TV.

    "Usually I don't watch sports too much on TV, but I couldn't miss it this time. Our country is getting stronger every day. I think all of us should be proud," said 22-year-old Zhou Xiaobing.

    Watching fireworks over the splendid Bird's Nest was a particularly moving moment for construction worker Ma Yonghong, for he was once among thousands of builders of the landmark stadium in northern Beijing.

    Ma held a small party on Friday night, inviting several of his fellow workers to beer.

    "There are so much to celebrate tonight, for Olympics and also for ourselves," said Ma at a construction site in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, his current workplace.

    "We spent two years working in Bird's Nest. Till now, I can still remember the sizes of wash basins and faucets I had installed inside the stadium," Ma said jokingly.

    China spent billions of dollars to build state-of-art stadia, sports facilities and infrastructure for the Olympics in Beijing and six co-host cities, fulfilling its commitments made seven years ago when Beijing won the right to host the Games.

    Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, on Friday night offered warm thanks to the Beijing Olympics organizers for its tireless work.

    Seven-year-long anticipation and imagination came to an end when the Chinese President Hu Jintao announced the opening of the 29th Olympic Games, which draws over 16,000 athletes from 204 countries and regions.

    Su Shaoyun, who lives at a small town Baofeng in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, said she was thrilled by the opening ceremony masterminded by famous Chinese film director Zhang Yimou.

    "All those audio and video technologies in the performance made me feel like in the space age," said Su.

    What impressed her most was "footprints" made by fireworks. "It looks like deities walking by or UFO landing," she said. "The firework performance was so wonderful. It reminded people that it is the Chinese who invented gunpowder."