Feature: U.S. Texans hail Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony as big "wow"

HOUSTON, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Many Texans, from the second-largest U.S. state, have hailed the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics as a giant "wow" factor for the global sporting spectacle.

From the hundreds of performers waving LED lights combined with film in an homage to spring at the beginning of the ceremony, to its high-octane, pyrotechnic conclusion, the opening ceremony in the National Stadium was "the best display of precision in song, dance and visual effects, all in one package, that I have ever seen," said Susan Elaine Stiteler, 59, a retired Houston art teacher.

It was not coincidental, Stiteler said, that prior to and during the lighting of the Olympic torch at Friday's opening, Chinese children dressed as snowflakes sang and danced in a performance that resonated a theme of harmony between nations.

Despite a 14-hour time difference between Beijing and Houston, Texans, full of passion for the ceremony, began to watch the televised program at 5:30 a.m. local time (1130 GMT) on Friday.

"I really liked the passing of the flame to Olympic champions of China," said Marianne Chase, a 64-year-old retired Houston elementary school teacher.

"They were born in each decade, starting with my birth decade of the 1950s, and ending with the youngest (born) in 2001."

"To me, the Olympics is about the best in athletic prowess that each country has to offer," said Rebecca Morgan, a retired public relations specialist.

"I have watched all the Olympics since the 1970s and the opening ceremony gets better each time. With all the world's challenges, the Olympics is a respite from the politics and controversies. And the visual effects are stunning," said the 62-year-old.

Chase's husband, Robert Chase, a foreman for the pipefitting division of a Houston construction company, said he was particularly struck by the interaction of ice-skaters with special effects that created images appearing to come through the stadium floor.

"Ice-skaters were awesome, especially the way the special effects zooming around their feet doesn't make them dizzy," he said. "I also thought that John Lennon's song, Imagine, was an inspired theme of unity -- going higher, faster, stronger-together."

The National Stadium, also known as The Bird's Nest, is the very one that hosted opening ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Morgan said the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony was hallmarked by an introduction to China's various and diverse regions, which, together with the Friday's event, are played as two of the most spectacular Olympic openers ever.

Chase said that incorporating children throughout the ceremony to deliver China's central message of unity sent an affirmative signal to the world.

"The ceremony definitely sent a positive message that the world will endure," she said. "We all need that right now."