Prepare for the Beijing Olympics (Part 1): A fun fact about the Beijing Olympics

Did you know that the date and time for the opening of this year’s Olympics was picked for a reason? This year’s Summer Olympics in Beijing is scheduled to open on 8/8/08 at 8:08:08 pm. That’s because the Chinese believe that the number 8 has auspicious meanings.

The word for “eight” (八) in Chinese (pronounced as “bā”) sounds very similar to the Chinese word which means “wealth” (发 - short for “发财”, read as “fā”). In regional Chinese dialects, the words for “eight” and “fortune” are also similar. For example, in Cantonese, the words “baat” and “faat” sound almost the same.

There is also a resemblance between two digits, “88″, and the “囍” (called “shuang xi”, which means “double happiness“), a popular decorative design composed of two stylized characters 喜 (read as “xi”, which means “joy” or “happiness”).

The public infatuation with the number 8 is growing. A Herald Tribune article offered a few more fun facts about the Chinese people’s infatuation with the lucky number 8:

1. A man in the city of Hangzhou placed an Internet ad offering to sell his plate of A88888 for 1.12 million yuan
2. A regional Chinese airline reportedly paid about 2.4 million yuan, or $300,000, to have 8888 8888 for a telephone number

Wanna learn more about the Chinese culture, the Beijing Olympics, or other Chinese superstitions? Come and visit MyHappyPlanet.com and speak to our native Chinese speakers!