Olympic Torch Relay

Here is a video from when I saw the Olympic torch.

The Olympics are a major force in advertising in and out of Beijing and many Chinese people are kind of obsessed. I saw a grown man on the bus who had a cell phone decorated with the Olympic mascot cartoon characters. The equivalent would be a man carrying around a cartoon-themed lunchbox. This kind of enthusiasm is so strange to me.

I think the hypefest surrounding the Olympics is both a result and a cause of hyper-nationalism. Not to say that all Chinese are hyper-nationalists, but there are lots that are. This makes conversation very interesting at times.