Nepali official newspaper The Rising Nepal published its chief reporter Ambar Mainali's commentary "China Cast A Spell" on Sunday over the ongoing Beijing Olympics.

"China stunned the world Friday evening," the commentary started. "Though people around the world glued to their TV sets knew for sure that the opening ceremony of the 29th Olympic summer games in Beijing would be something different this time around, they were not prepared to see such form of extravaganza that left them staring without interruption."

"The fireworks were something rare and added to the joys of people from all age groups. The colorful fireworks numbering 30,000 came as a brainteaser to many innocent people who have never before been a witness to such form of sophistication. To add to the glory of the games, U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin too spared time to grace the world's most spectacular sporting competition that had initially started from the Greek city of Olympia," the article described.

"This time around, China has turned out to be fortunate enough to host the games. The Chinese have left the world flabbergasted with the pompous opening ceremony at the stadium nicknamed Bird's Nest.

"The efficacy with which the Chinese have made arrangements for the games reveals the strides it has taken in the development front. No wonder that the hard working Chinese people have shown to the world how things could be changed for the better if there is determination to move ahead in life. Anybody who has visited China must have taken Friday's grand opening as something that was long awaited and perfectly in place."

"It was only till the early 1980s that people around the world used to sketch China's capital Beijing of being far from modernity with bicycles flooding the roads. Thirty years down the line, China has emerged as one of the most rapidly developing countries of the world. A visit to Xining in Qinghai Province last year came both as a breather and surprise for this scribe. The city is so well planned that a first time visitor is left wondering how meticulous the Chinese must have been with whatever they do," the author recalled his visit to China last year.

"The railway traversing through the Tibetan highlands all the way to Xining and beyond up to Beijing is another wonder for somebody who is little versed with what real development is like. Going by the well-engineered railway track with the investment of whopping billions, one can well surmise the rate at which China's economy is growing."

"To sum up, having had the opportunity to peek through China's progress and obsession for a separate identity, this scribe was all prepared for Friday's grand opening of the Olympics. It did turn out as expected," the commentary read.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2008)