A gala show that marked the 10-day countdown to the Beijing Olympic Games was staged yesterday evening.

Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee watched the performance with other senior officials.

The show named "A Century's Dream Comes True" was a retrospection of the Chinese nation's aspiration and determination of taking part in and hosting the Olympic Games.

The performance included traditional Chinese songs, dances, acrobatics and Beijing Opera, with interludes of short documentaries that told of Chinese people's passion for the Games.