Beijing+Olympics

//The Games of the XXIX Olympiad//toc
 * Beijing 2008**

August 8 - 24, 2008

=Background Narrative= On July 13, 2001 at the 112th International Olympic Committee Session in Moscow, Beijing was elected the Host City for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in 2008. The vote followed in line with the recommendation of the IOC Evaluation Commission that “a Beijing Games would leave a unique legacy to China and to sports. The Commission is confident that Beijing could organize an excellent Games”. http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/beijing/index_uk.asp

The Organizing Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs) organize the Olympic Games in collaboration with their National Olympic Committee and the host city. Therefore, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) will be responsible for the next Summer Olympic Games. The Games of the XXIX Olympiad – Beijing 2008 will take place from August 8th – 24th 2008. The Games in Beijing will play host to the 28 summer sports currently on the Olympic program. Approximately 10,500 athletes are expected to participate in the Games with around 20,000 accredited media bringing the Games to the world. Not everyone will be fortunate to travel to the Beijing Olympic Games, however, we can participate as spectators. These lessons will prepare students and teachers for Beijing 2008 and supplement any China curriculum currently being taught. Once students have completed these activities they will be able to share their knowledge with others interested in Chinese culture as well as impress any Olympic Games fan. =Beijing Brief Facts and Figures= Beijing lies in the north of the North China Plain, at 39 degree 56’N and 116 degree 20’E. It neighbors the Tianjin Municipality in the east, and borders Hebei Province on three sides-the north, west and south. The terrain of the Beijing area slopes from the northwest to the southeast. Mountains snake round the city’s north, west and northeast, while the southeast part of the city is a plain that slopes gently toward the coast of the Bohai Sea. The Yongding, Chaobai and Juma rivers and the north section of the Grand Cannel crisscross the area under Beijing’s jurisdiction. Most of the rivers originate from mountainous areas in the northwest, cut through mountains and zigzag through the plain in the southeast before emptying into Bohai Sea.

Beijing belongs to the warm temperate zone with a semi-humid climate. It has four distinctive seasons, with short springs and autumns while summers and winters are always long. Annual temperatures average 12.8 degrees Celsius. January is the coldest month with an average temperature of -6.4 degrees Celsius, and July, the hottest with an average temperature of 29.6 degrees Celsius. The annual precipitation s measured at 371.1mm, and the frost-free period is 196 days.

Beijing belongs to the warm temperate zone with a semi-humid climate. It has four distinctive seasons, with short springs and autumns while summers and winters are always long. Annual temperatures average 12.8 degrees Celsius. January is the coldest month with an average temperature of -6.4 degrees Celsius, and July, the hottest with an average temperature of 29.6 degrees Celsius. The annual precipitation s measured at 371.1mm, and the frost-free period is 196 days.

Beijing is the capital of the People’s Republic of China. It covers 16,807.8 square kilometers. Mountainous areas occupy 10,417.5 square kilometers, accounting for 62 per cent of the city’s landmass. The rest, 6390.3 square kilometers or 38 per cent of the total, are flatland. The municipality governs 14 urban districts and 4 rural counties.

Beijing had a registered population of 11 million by the end of 2004. The average life expectancy is 74 for Beijing residents. People of all China’s 56 ethnic groups are found in Beijing. The vast majority of the population belongs to the Han ethnic group. People of the Hui, Man and Mongolian ethnic groups number more than 10,000 separately. Beijing is home to the Peking Man, one of the earliest human species that existed some 500,000 years ago. As a city, Beijing dates to more than 3,000 years ago.

BOCOG has announced it will partner with other cities to co-host several Olympic events. The city of Qingdao will host Sailing while Hong Kong will feature Equestrian events. The co-host cities of Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Qinhuangdao will all showcase the Football (Soccer) Preliminaries.

The image and look of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad are the carriers to showcase to the world the culture and tradition of China and Beijing. The image elements for the 2008 Games are the Olympic Symbol, Olympic Emblem, Slogan of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Color System, Cultural, Environmental, and Volunteer Symbols, Pictograms, and the Official Mascots of the 2008 Olympic Games. The lessons enclosed will focus on the Olympic Emblem, Slogan, and Mascots for the Beijing Olympics. However, for background knowledge, I have included some information about the other images as they all tie into one another. =Color System=
 * //Chinese Red//** emphasizes red lanterns, red weddings, red palatial walls and red spring couplets; lives in Beijing are shrouded in the red. The red is the color of Beijing and that of China.
 * //Glaze Yellow//** signifies golden glazed tiles, golden leaves and golden farmlands; the peculiar golden color of the glaze represents the glorious history and landscape of Beijing.
 * //Chinese Scholar-tree Green//** has been selected by Beijing residents to represent the image of Beijing. It tells the theme of the “Green Olympics”.
 * //Blue-and-White Porcelain Blue//** makes the shade of the sky in Beijing’s bright summer and golden autumn. The mild blue of the porcelain hints at the city’s history and its creativity.
 * //Great Wall Grey//** winds in mountains and grey siheyuan courtyards lie in hutongs. The grey is the tone of traditional architectures in Beijing.
 * //Jade White//** signifies how Chinese intellectuals have been wearing jades to show their honesty since long ago. Jade is also a symbol of luck.

=Pictograms= One of the basic image elements of the Olympics, the Olympic Games Pictograms are widely applied in areas such as Olympic directional instruction system, advertising and communications, landscape and environmental arrangement, TV broadcasting and souvenir designs. The Pictograms play an important role in identifying the Olympic sports as well as in Olympic marketing.

Named “the beauty of seal characters” and with strokes of seal characters as their basic form, the Pictograms of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games integrate pictographic charm of inscriptions on bones and bronze objects in ancient China with simplified embodiment of modern graphics, making them recognizable, memorable and easy to use. Skillfully using the effect of sharp contrast between the black and white colors which the typical Chinese traditional artistic form of rubbings have, the Pictograms of the Beijing Olympic Games display distinct motion character, graceful aesthetic perception of movement and rich cultural connotations, thus arriving at the harmony and unity of form with conception. =Emblem= The official emblem of Beijing 2008 entitled “Chinese Seal-Dancing Beijing” cleverly combines the Chinese seal and the art of calligraphy with sporting features, transforming the elements into a human figure running forward and embracing triumph. The figure resembles the Chinese character “Jing”, which stands for the name of the host city and represents a particularly significant Chinese style. The artwork embodies four messages:

- Chinese culture, - the color of red China - Beijing welcomes friends from all over the world - to challenge the extreme and achieve the perfect and promote the Olympic motto of “Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger).

=Slogan= The official slogan of Beijing 2008 is “One World One Dream”. This slogan fully reflects the essence and the universal values of the Olympic spirit—Unity, Friendship, Progress, Harmony, Participation and Dream. It expresses the common wishes of people all over the world, inspired by the Olympic ideals, to strive for a bright future of Mankind. In spite of the differences in colors, languages and races, we share the charm and joy of the Olympic Games, and together we seek for the ideal of Mankind for peace. We belong to the same world and we share the same aspirations and dreams.

Like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, Fuwa will serve as the Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace—and blessings from China—to children all over the world.
 * __Olympic Mascots__**

Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of China’s most popular animals—the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow—and the Olympic Flame. Each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name—a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow. When you put their names together—Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni—they say, “Welcome to Beijing,” offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games. Fuwa also embody both the landscape and the dreams and aspirations of people from every part of the vast country of China. In their origins and their headpieces, you can see the five elements of nature—the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky—all stylistic rendered in ways that represent the deep traditional influences of Chinese folk art and ornamentation.

BOCOG Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad 267 Bei Si Huan Zhong Lu Haidian District Beijing 100083, CHINA
 * __For further information and primary sources:__**

Tel: (86.10) 66 69 91 85 Fax: (86.10) 66 69 92 29 Email: 2008@beijing-olympic.org.cn [|www.olympic.org] [|www.beijing2008.com]

=Key Questions= 1.) How will the images of the 2008 Olympic Games educate the world about Chinese culture and tradition? 2.) During the Opening Ceremony, performances are indicative of the host city and country. If you were entertaining, what materials and rituals would you use to teach the spectators about Beijing and China? 3.) Which of the images show traditional/historical Chinese culture and which images portray modern day China? Are there images and symbols that signify both past and present China?

=Learning Objectives= 1.) Students will be able to identify key symbols that are indicative of China in the Olympic Images for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. 2.) Students will be able to explain why elements of the Olympic Emblem, Slogan, and Mascots are important in the Chinese culture. 3.) Students will be able to design/create their own Beijing 2008 Emblem depicting Chinese culture and the Olympic Rings symbol. 4.) Students will be able to perform an “Opening Ceremony Guide” for an audience, so they in turn will be prepared for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, on August 8th, 2008 in Beijing, China.

=Authentic Assessment= 4.8 million tourists are expected to visit Beijing in 2008. If you are not one of the lucky ones, don’t worry. The Fourth Graders at School XYZ have been busy learning about China and the images of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad to be held in Beijing. Here is a sample of what they have learned to help prepare viewers to watch the Opening Ceremony on August 8th, 2008 at 8 pm. The number eight is associated with prosperity in the Chinese culture. The performance will consist of 3 vignettes each created by the students and demonstrating to the audience what the students have learned about the Beijing 2008 Emblem, Slogan, and Mascots.
 * //Culminating Activity//**
 * “Opening Ceremony Guide to the XXIX Olympiad to be held in Beijing”**

=Annotated Bibliography= Accessed 2 October 2006. Available [|http://www.beijing2008.com]. Overview of Games of the XXIX Olympiad to be held in Beijing, China. Accessed 2 October 2006. Available [|http://www.olympic.org]. Historical and educational website for the Olympic Games provided by the International Olympic Committee. Accessed 2 October 2006. Available http://www.usoc.org/117_48399.htm. Facts and figures about the Beijing Olympic Games.

=Lesson Plans=