Beijing 2008: No China crisis as Olympics reaches starting line

I hate to disappoint all the purveyors of doom and gloom - actually that's not true I never totally believed them in the first place - but the weather in Beijing over the weekend was prefect if a little hot for some tastes, the welcome effusive and almost embarrassingly "red carpet" and the magnificent stadia are all glistening and in perfect working order. Not a harassed carpenter or electrician in sight.

The natives are extremely friendly, I haven't been knocked back on an internet site yet and as I write this in my pleasantly appointed accommodation block room I am watching a not entirely complementary BBC World report on the Games on my 64 channel TV and you can't move for BBC websties on the net. Strange. I thought they were banned here? If this is censorship "Big Brother" has gone to pot and lost his touch.

The swimming pool at the Media village was welcome and refreshing, the foot massage at the emporium next door invigorating, the air-con works, the rooms are absolutely fine barely 200 yards from the Birds Nest and the soldiers and policemen, with a little cajoling, are beginning to salute with a smile. Which is more than they do back home frankly. The food "on site" thus far is only average but you don't come to the Olympics for fine cusine although I do intend to broaden my culinary horizons as soon as.

Traditionally you can't have an Olympics without rubbishing the hosts in the immediate build-up, it comes with the territory and is part of an elaborate game of international one-upmanship and points scoring. "It's your turn now guys, lets see how you cope. Not easy is it?"

Like the Duck - Peking duck? - gliding over a tranquil pond, the Chinese are surely paddling furiously underneath and there are all sort of huge logistical problems and rows but it would be a bitter and twisted individual not to admit that, as promised, they have 'delivered' an extraordinary Olympic venue, capable of inspiring those who compete and enthralling those who watch. Made in China. Everything here is exactly as it says on the tin.

The only hiccough came on landing at Hong Kong en route to Beijing where, spotting my accreditation, I was swept up by the formidable Miss Angel Yap, one of the volunteers clad in a rather garish blue shirt, who informed me she would personally escourt my good self and Mr White Jim all the way to our connecting flight. Marvellous. VIP treatment all the way for the British media. Good for the soul.

Ten minutes later a rather dishevelled Jim White, my erstwhile colleague who in fact looked rather green, emerged from the bowels of Zoo class and Miss Yap strode forward purposefully only to abruptly stop after 50 yards by the Transfer Desk where a massive queue - which ten minutes earlier I had been right at the front of - had formed. "Thank you. My job is done. Now I leave you here at the Transfer desk. Have a wonderful Olympics." A frustrating hour later we finally made it through for our connecting fight.

Arriving in Beijing airport - the newest and biggest in the world - was like being Royalty for the day. We were swept through endless glistening corridors, red tape was kept to a minimum and in no time myself and White Jim were in our own 54 seater bus headed for the Media village. There was just the hint of traffic congestion as we closed on our destination so we switched to the empty Olympic lane and glided in to be greeted by an army of smiling teenage volunteers ready to carry your bags, check you in and thrust bottles of iced cold water into your sweaty hands. I've known worse arrivals in distant lands.

Over at the stadium a capacity 80,000 crowd was gathering for one of the many rehearsals for the Opening ceremony. A good natured, cheerful "free spirited" Saturday night crowd out to enjoy a free evening's entertainment. All they had to do was enjoy the show and fireworks for three hours. Hot dogs, coke, popcorn, screaming kids, courting couples, school parties, grizzly old veterans telling each other how they did it in their day.

Most confusing. I expected to see regimented order everywhere. Marching ranks of recruited spectators, baton wielding soldiers, blaring political style announcements. Instead up on the big screen there was a distinctly English sounding ham actor - White Jim thought Peter Hall but I think not - extolling the virtues of Olypmian ideals and breaking bread with the world.

We shouldn't have been there - we had joined the throng in the best tradition of British journalism by "blagging" it - and only got politely moved on by a venerable lady volunteer as the intrepid White reached for his camera once too often. It was a fair cop and she was too decent to argue with. In London 2012 they won't be welcoming us to Opening ceremony rehearsals with open arms either.

You can be endlessly cynical about China and the Olympics but by staging these Games they are playing with fire a little. Consciously so - for whatever reason this has been carefully planned - but playing with fire nonetheless. They are letting the 'genie' out of the box and for those Chinese citizens touched by the Games life will never quite be the same again. As Confuscious, he say: "The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." and China is taking the first step in a very long journey indeed over the coming weeks. It;s just that we don't knoww exactly where it will end.