More than a million Beijingers gathered in city parks on Wednesday morning for the first of more than 60 events around China to mark the start of the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympic Games.

The most heavily scrutinised preparations for any Games in Olympic history has brought forth a barrage of criticism for China this week on issues such as human rights abuses, press freedom, pollution, food safety and Tibet.

But, starting with a mass display of morning exercises, the Chinese people, waking up to a sunny but hazy day, finally got their chance to express their enthusiasm for the most important sporting and cultural event ever held in the country.

Photographs: Getty Images | Text: Nick Mulvenney/Reuters

Next