The exhibition "One World, One Dream" opens on August 1 at Beijing's Millennium Monument. It's an exhibition that showcases the preparation of Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games. It recounts stories of the subsequent preparations. It encapsulates the evolution of competitive sports in China and the Olympic games themselves.

There are lots of photographs to chronicle the complex history of China's Olympic dream. It's a story going back a hundred years. In 1908, Zhang Boling wrote an article in the "Tianjin Youth" newspaper proposing that China participate in the Olympic Games.

In 1932, track athlete Liu Changchun became the first official Chinese competitor. That was at the Los Angeles Games. Xu Haifeng clinched the first Olympic gold medal for China in 1984 -- again in Los Angeles. Almost every moment was captured on film or recorded in diaries.

The exhibition is in five categories. There are more than 2,400 photos and over 1,300 artifacts. Some of the exhibits are open to public viewing for the first time.

The exhibition is to continue until October 10.