Artist, Liu Ningyi and his daughter, Liu Haomei, presented their masterpiece, an oil painting titled "Ode to the Olympics," to the public on Wednesday, August 6, at a press conference. The painting, which took seven years to complete, showcases the long and magnificent history of the Olympics and reflects the Olympic mottos of "Swifter, Higher, Stronger" and "Peace, Friendship, Progress" on a canvas measuring 112 meters in height (for the number of years in the modern history of the Olympics) and five meters in height (for the number of Olympic rings). The artwork showcases the peaceful interaction among peoples of different cultures and nationalities that the Olympics foster.

Confucius, Laozi, Quyuan and Socrates are featured watching the Olympics.

The historical outline depicted in the painting begins with the Greek mythological figure Prometheus, who purportedly gave fire to man. Philosophers Confucius, Laozi, Quyuan and Socrates are then depicted watching the Olympics, while terra cotta warriors and early Greek athletes are competing in various sports. The painting then jumps to the 1896 revival of the Olympics in Athens by Pierre de Coubertin and follows the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics, to the present-day 2008 Beijing Olympics, which are represented with an Olympic flame. Also in the painting are 2,000 star athletes who have achieved notable fame and recognition in their respective sports. Connecting all of these events is the Olympic flame, which weaves its way throughout the picture.

Present at the viewing ceremony were International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge and IOC executives Gerhard Heiberg and Hein Verbruggen. All were full of praise for the painting.

The father-daughter artist team explains their piece to the media.

Liu and his daughter started working on the painting in 2001 immediately after Beijing successfully won its bid to host the 2008 Olympics. To finish the piece in time for the Games, the artists gave up all their holidays and rest periods, working every single day, sometimes up to 10 hours a day. The piece will be shown at the International Exhibition Center, which is located off the northeast side of the Third Ring Road in Beijing starting August 11.

Editor: Yan