BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Overjoyed Chinese cheered and applauded in front of their TVs at home, beneath big screens in bustling city squares or in remote villages on Friday night, sharing the passion and glory of the long-anticipated Olympic Games as they opened in Beijing.

    The glittering opening ceremony, inside the new National Stadium in the capital, was witnessed by more than 100,000 in the stands and by billions in China and around the world as it was broadcast by CCTV.

    Many people interviewed by Xinhua said they felt honored and proud that their country was finally hosting the biggest sports event in the world.

    Thousands of local residents gathered beneath a giant screen at Shangxiajiu Square in Guangzhou, in southern China, to watch the opening ceremony. Many wore T-shirts saying "I Love China" and "Go, China" and many of their faces were painted with Olympic symbols.

    At one dormitory, more than 100 migrant workers in Guangzhou gathered to watch the event on TV.

    "Usually I don't watch sports too much on TV, but I couldn't miss it this time. Our country is getting stronger every day. I think all of us should be proud," said 22-year-old Zhou Xiaobing.

    An editorial in Friday's English-language newspaper China Daily said the opening of the Beijing Olympics was a Chinese dream come true.

    "The dream lasted 100 years, unfulfilled, until tonight," it said, adding that the 16-day Games should help the outside world better understand the host country.

    But for proud father Huang Zhengyu, the feeling was a bit more personal.

    At his home in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, Huang waited anxiously for the Chinese delegation's procession because his son, Huang Haiqiang, is among the 639-strong Chinese team.

    His 20-year-old son will take part in the high jump during the Games.

    Huang said his wife and he decided not to go to Beijing because "we fear that our presence might cause stress for our son. So we decided to just stay home and watch TV with our relatives."

    "It is the greatest honor for an athlete to participate in the Olympic Games. I am so proud of my son," Huang said.

    The father said he was worried about an injury to his son's foot, which the young man said had healed.

    "I hope he can score a medal for China," Huang said.

    In Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Memet Ismail's family began preparing supper an hour earlier than usual so they could watch the ceremony uninterrupted.

    "I'm very happy to see so many friends from all over the world come to our country! The Olympics are a seed that grows friendship and peace," he said, while watching the performance with his wife and daughter.

    "As a Chinese, I feel very proud," he said.

    Many foreigners living in China also joined in the joy.

    Hooleys Bar, near the North Tianhe Road, Guangzhou, was full of applause and shouting.

    Ajoy Sahu, a designer from London, said being in a bar with so many others made him feel more "Olympicsy".

    "I have been going back and forth between London and Guangzhou during the past few years. I feel like I am already a part of China," he said.

    "The Beijing Olympics is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. I just want to watch the opening ceremony with the Chinese people," he said.

    Tim Dyer, an American who has lived in east China's metropolis of Shanghai for three years, said the ceremony displayed the astonishing beauty of traditional Chinese culture

    "I was deeply touched when seeing the dancers," he said, in a bar in Xintiandi, a popular shopping and entertainment area in Shanghai.

    A huge screen was erected in front of the landmark Potala Palace in central Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, attracting hundreds of viewers who cheered and applauded.

    "The performance [at the opening ceremony] was just amazing. I could really feel the atmosphere [at the stadium] even though we are far from Beijing," said local resident Soinam Cering.

    Famed Chinese mountaineer Nyima Cering was among the crowd. He said he was deeply impressed by the cauldron lighting at the finale of the ceremony.

    During the global relay of the Olympic torch, which ended in Beijing earlier on Friday, Cering and his team successfully took the torch onto the world's highest peak, Mount Qomolangma (Everest), on May 8, for the first time in history.

    "I feel so honored to see the flame being lit at the Olympic Games' main venue tonight. This is an honor belonging to all mountaineers," he said.

    At Lhasa's Jokhang Temple, one of the most sacred temples of Tibetan Buddhism, monks held a special prayer ceremony for the newly opened Games, according to monk Ngawang Qoizha.

    "We want to wish great success for the Olympics in our own way," Qoizha said, adding that many young monks would watch the Games since they are sports enthusiasts.

    In Qingchuan County, Sichuan Province, hard-hit by the devastating May 12 earthquake, 70-year-old villager Qing Chang'an had spent 260 yuan (38 U.S. dollars) to buy a TV signal receiver just the previous day so that his family could watch the ceremony.

    "The Olympics is a grand event to be enjoyed by everyone across the country. We feel reassured about rebuilding our homes when we see the country is able to host the Games, even after the devastating quake," he said.

    In quake-hit Xujiaping Village in Shaanxi Province, a 29-inch color TV, delivered by the provincial government, took center stage on Friday night. The villagers were thrilled to be able to watch the ceremony, even though 32 households out of the total of 35 had lost their homes in the quake.

    At a relocation center for quake survivors in Dujiangyan city, Sichuan Province, the keeper of a small grocery store, surnamed Wu, said she had sold a lot of beer and other beverages on Friday night.

    "People are celebrating the opening of the Olympics just as if it was a holiday," she said.

    More than 40 high school students gathered in Beichuan, another area hard hit by the quake, for the ceremony.

    "The opening ceremony performances are wonderful, and they show the real China," said Liu Guanghui, a senior student at Beichuan High School who made his way back to Beichuan to join his classmates for the show.

    "I sensed something from the opening -- the real rise of China," he said.