Beijing 2008 Olympic Cultural Festival opens

President Hu Jintao and Greek President Karolos Papoulias have attended the opening ceremony of the sixth Beijing 2008 Olympic Cultural Festival.

400 Chinese and Greek artists performed at the ceremony. The festival is part of efforts to make the Olympics a collective display of Chinese and foreign cultures.

Monday's memorable performance was a sample of the cultural treats people can expect during the Olympic Games.

Ino Menegaki, a high priestess who lit the torch for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games three months ago in Athens, read a poem in praise of Apollo. Many prominent Chinese artists also performed.

The ceremony featured the evolution and interaction of Chinese and Greek cultures. The two-act performance brought together traditional Greek music and dance, as well as Chinese folk songs such as Jasmine Blossoms. Disabled artists gave a dance performance of the Goddess of Mercy with One Thousand Arms.