China has been celebrating the 100-day countdown to the Beijing Olympics. In the heart of the capital on Wednesday, there were performances in anticipation of the grand event.

Chinese actors, singers and other celebrities perform during the 4th Music Award of the Games of the XXIX  Olympiad at the Worker People's Cultural Palace as part of the 100-day Olympic countdown celebration in Beijing April 30, 2008. [Agencies]

It's a night full of joy and excitement. It's a night not only for demonstrating the country's preparations for the Olympic Games, but also the enthusiasm from its citizens.

People gathered at Beijing's Forbidden City, the center for numerous unforgettable events in the country's history, to celebrate the approach of the 29th Summer Olympics.

The celebration reached a climax with a singing and dancing performance in the Ancestral Shrine of the Forbidden City, which used to be a royal place to pray for the blessing of ancestors.

Action star Jackie Chan (C) performs with other celebrities during the 4th Music Award of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad at the Worker People's Cultural Palace as part of the 100-day Olympic countdown celebration in Beijing April 30, 2008.  [Agencies]

Beijing's preparations have kept to plan and some stadiums and infrastructure are ready ahead of schedule.

Now, with years of yearning, striving and preparing for the Olympics, the curtain is to be raised and the real test is about to begin.

(CCTV May 1, 2008)