Major Olympic memorabilia exhibition opens in Beijing

Over a thousand pieces of precious Olympic memorabilia went on display at the Museum of Chinese Gardens and Landscape Architecture on March 22, including the world's first Olympic torch, Olympic trophies, medals, badges, torches, stamps, old photos and athletes' autographs. The exhibition explicated China's Olympic history and Olympic dreams since the first Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896.

Huang Yigong, the？deputy curator？of the MCGLA, explained that the eye-catching red banner among the artifacts was the one which was hung at the press conference to announce the Chinese delegation's win of the bid for the 2008 Beijng Olympic Games on July 13, 2001. Signatures on the banner from key figures like Juan Antonio Samaranch and He Zhenliang are still clearly visible.

The majority of the collection was made public for the first time. The most valuable artifact in the exhibit is the world's first Olympic torch from 1936. The torch was exquisitely made and has been well-preserved. The owner of the torch, Li Xiang, a sports memorabilia amateur collector, said he traded for the torch with a western collector at the Beijing Olympic Expo in 2006.

Other memorabilia like the photos of long-distance runner Liu Changchun at his first Olympic Games in 1932 were exhibited in addition to commemorative porcelain plates and bowls produced by civil groups.