The footprints in their history stretch back 5000 years, but for the world's greatest wall builders, makers of a forbidden city, what happens tonight is not merely a small step, but a great leap
China is welcoming the world
Who will they be when this is over
The clock of their lives has been beating with a screaming urgency
They have pushed themselves to be as sharp as a razor's edge, for this summer, to be here, now, and nowhere else
Beijing, the first ever Olympics for the world's most populous nation, 1
3 billion who framed the front-page story of the 21st century, a China both outside time and bursting every which way in a bewildering rush of transformation
They have made themselves anew, relentlessly, devotedly, so they might, on these days (if you want) step int