As we get to the last day before the Olympics, the Shanghai Morning Post decided to feature an important moment in Chinese Olympic history. On the front page, the runner anticipating with intense concentration in the white and black picture was the first Chinese ever to compete in the Olympic games: Liu Changchun. Although he lost in the preliminary rounds of the 100 and 200 meters due fatigue of traveling half way around the world, he is nevertheless a hero.

Front Page Story

If you guessed the headline has something to do with the Olympic Opening Ceremony tomorrow, bingo! The ceremony starts at 8 p.m. and will last 3 and a half hours. The big show will be separated in three parts: Chinese flag and national anthem, the big show and the athletes. Of course, the Olympic flame will be set alight at the end, and no one knows how.

--Some other interesting facts. Sarah Brightman and the Chinese singer Liu Huan will sing the main theme song. That'll last 3 minutes. Also each country’s stroke number in Chinese will determine the order of they enter the stadium. You have to wait a while to see Great Britain (one of the longest country names in Chinese).

--Following up on yesterday’s headlines, the Chinese women’s soccer team beat Sweden against all odds: a new coach, two starters injured and against a team they haven’t beaten in 8 years. Conclusion? Don’t mess with Chinese women.

--On the other side, the men’s soccer team faces New Zealand today. Don't get your hopes up. If a team got a point for each time they disappointed, the Chinese man’s soccer team would rank NO. 1 in the world. My strategy since 1990: don’t expect anything and you will have 1 in a million chance of getting surprised.

--The only news today not related to the Olympics: the Prime minister signs a decree to relax the control on foreign exchange. The Chinese government is allowing more revenue from domestic firms to stay offshore to balance its exchange reserve.

High today: 33 degrees Celsius. All of you spending your first summer in Shanghai, you don’t know how lucky you are!

Zaobao! Zabao! is a daily article by Li Yizhong that translates and puts into brief perspective the headlines of the Shanghai Morning Post's daily newspaper. Read more of his work on the Zaobao! Zaobao! blog.