I’m leaving early， two hours before the event， because I still want to work a little bit outdoors， the weather is fine. However， I have the vague feeling that I might have problems finding a suitable restaurant， not because they have no television， but because they might be too crowded already.
But all restaurants are empty， completely empty. Nice， then I can choose the best one， yes. Far from it. Wherever I ask， I am told： “We are completely booked.” So I committed a silly mistake. Well， in that case I decide to go into a large restaurant which I usually do not like to visit that much (only with foreign business partners whom I invite) because they offer “international kitchen” and therefore a few foreigners go eating there. But even here： “We are completely booked.” Meaning that the other foreigners are smarter than me， and I am really annoyed
Also， some drivers managed to circumvent the barriers and move not to have thought of that！ ahead of the relay trek with flag， horn， and fanfare.
As it is now getting late and I can think of little other opportunities， I talk (Chinese scatting) at the waiter with the patience of Job. I can arrange for getting a single table carried in for me， gladly helping them with moving other furniture， pushing some tables together a bit； my table will be at the edge， yet I will have a good view of the big screen. There the broadcast is already set up， it has turned dark. In ShenZhen， dusk is falling all year round at some time between 6 p. m. (winter) and 7：30 p. m. (summer)， as the city is located about 100 km south of the Tropic of Cancer. Around 21 June at approximately 12 o’clock noontime， the sun is here in the very zenith. Accordingly， night is falling sooner than in Hamburg or northern Iceland. Now， in August， this is an advantage for the transmission of the opening ceremony in the restaurant.
Just a few minutes before eight o’clock， the restaurant suddenly gets crowded abruptly – only Chinese people， not a single foreigner！ Strangely enough， but no other foreigner had tried his luck， no one else had asked for a seat， it seems I was really the only guy in ShenZhen who did not know that today there was only a place to get if you registered in time. After all， everyone knew when the Olympic Games would start， there was an endless count-down， and how thoughtless I was！ But as well lucky.
The opening ceremony begins. The Chinese around me are hooked， they cheer at each other and me， I’m excited together with them. “Zhong guo jia you！ (中国加油)” Now the national teams enter – and we are all gripped by the scene： YaoMing (姚明)， the world-famous basketball player， two metres and thirty-two tall， is the flag-bearer of the Chinese team. Next to him， sometimes hand in hand， there is a nine-year-old boy half his size running alongside： LinHao (林浩)， he survived the earthquake right in the epicentre.
When he had freed himself from the collapsed classroom， he ran back and saved two of his classmates. He was injured， and during the Olympic parade of nations， the patch on his head was clearly visible. Altogether， ten out of his thirty-two classmates had
Finally here comes the first car， enjoyably equipped with pretty girls. survived. While they had
The torch runner right in front of my viewing point. Next to me， his fans are beside themselves with excitement.
waited for rescuers and paramedics， LinHao again and again started singing， animating his classmates to join so that they did not fall into depression during the endless waiting for rescue， water， food.
Many Chinese are crying next to me， I cannot help but digging out a handkerchief.
Later I read in a Chinese online news magazine that the boy would almost have not been there as intended， for some of the guards had not been informed that he was to participate and tried to detain him because he was no athlete and did not belong to the team. The problem was solved. Eight seconds late to the plan， the two unlike flag bearers entered the stadium.
During the Olympics nothing is as usual in China. Schedules are deferred， staff are late (“There’s a terrible traffic jam， you know” – “Guess not！ It’s rather my impression that you were watching the coverage at home！”)， business lunch does not revolve around business but only the number of previously won medals (“medals” referring to gold medals， silver and bronze are for losers and not to be counted) and the possible opportunities for this day. Often there is no talk at all， because everyone is staring at the TV sets that are installed in every restaurant， in every corner， and on all sides， too.
People who otherwise show a limited interest in sports suddenly watch weight-lifting as if banned by magic (this being a discipline of which none at the table is an expert)， and there’s a great hooray in the restaurant when the Chinese athlete has propped the next heavier weight.
When the Olympics have passed， there is a great void. No one knows what to do now during the evening or what to discuss in business meetings， the Olympics are over.