bye-bye BEIJING, see you in LONDON

Finally, the Beijing Olympic Games have come to a superb end.

Looking back on the Games' preparation, such a great success holding the world's top sporting event seemed unlikely.

China began its preparations in shaky fashion as obstacle after obstacle threatened to derail the event.

The worldwide torch relay faced numerous rallies calling for a boycott of the Games in light of human rights abuses in Tibet. Its readiness as the host was also heavily questioned by the international media over issues ranging from air pollution to food safety.

Back home, when it rains, it pours: a huge tremor devastated Sichuan province on May 12, killing more than 69,000 people in what was to become a national tragedy.

Then, four days before the Games were set to kick off, two men drove a dump truck into a group of jogging policemen and threw explosives into their barracks, killing 16 and casting dark shadows over the event's security preparedness.

Such formidable hurdles failed to dampen the spirit of the 1.3-billion strong nation. Instead, it was a baptism of fire.

China awed the world with a lavish and dazzling display at the opening ceremony in the iconic stage of the Bird's Nest stadium.

Then, Chinese athletes turned the sporting world on its head by fighting off their contenders from the beginning until the very end, allowing no letup.

Their efforts paid off as they won most of the gold medals up for grabs -- even in events they had never won before -- to dethrone traditional world No. 1 the United States, despite no icing on the cake following the abrupt withdrawal of Chinese hero hurdler Liu Xiang due to injury.