2008 Olympics / Five days to go / Blue skies smiling over Beijing

BEIJING - The opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics is still five days away, but China is trying to win the world's affection any way it can, making sure that the very first word to emerge from visitors' mouths is "Wow."

The airport terminal welcoming tourists and athletes to the city is breathtaking, meticulously designed, and - just as the Chinese like it - the biggest in the world.

China intends to stage the most impressive games of this new century, one which will pave its way into the developed (Western) family of nations, and it is pulling out all the stops even before the games begin.

Even before disembarking, flight passengers are treated to their first glimpse of the new, mighty China. Everything is spotless, sparkling, and generally pleasing to the eye. This is light years ahead of the "old" terminal, inaugurated a mere eight years ago.

The highway leading to the city is peppered with the Olympic flag and the dense greenery typical to Beijing in summer. Even the crickets have been instructed not to chirp, but to sing. Advertisements on buildings that are not related to the Games' sponsors have been prohibited, rendering the cityscape quiet and pleasant to behold.

New driving regulations mean the streets are much less congested and easier to navigate. Beijing no longer suffers the impossible traffic jams for which it has become famous. Oh, the quiet. The dragon has been tamed, if only temporarily.

The Beijing of recent years had been one massive construction site - dusty, loud, generally uncomfortable. There is no doubt that today's Beijing is cleaner than is has been in decades, with its hundreds of brand-new buildings touting brand-name billboards.

It is difficult to ignore the heavy price the Games have levied on city residents, but that's a different story.

Like a bride unveiled at the altar, she is more beautiful and unique than ever before, waiting with bated breath to be embraced by her groom - in this case, the Western world.

The skies over Beijing, at least as of yesterday, are blue.