Le Mars resident Tim Watson tests the grip of retired NBA star Charles Barkley after they met atop the Great Wall of China exactly a year before the 2008 Summer Olympics are set to begin in Beijing. Watson, visiting the country as part of a Morningside College choir tour, said China was ready for the Olympics to begin even a year ago. [Click to enlarge]

Those were former NBA star Charles Barkley's first words to Tim Watson, of Le Mars, and the other Morningside College staff member Watson was with on the Great Wall of China.

It was August 8, 2007, one year -- to the day -- before the 2008 Olympics would begin in China, and already the nation was garnering attention from the international athletic community.

"One World, One Dream," the official 2008 Olympics slogan, towers over China's rolling hills. One of Tim Watson's choir members from Morningside College snapped this shot during their day hiking atop the Great Wall of China in May. This was during Le Mars resident Watson's second trip to China after visiting last August. [Click to enlarge]

Watson was in China planning a college choir trip, and the co-worker he was traveling with was wearing an Iowa shirt. That shirt caught Barkley's attention so he stopped to chat.

Barkley, a player on the U.S. "Dream Team" in the 1992 Olympics basketball competition and the 1996 U.S. team as well, earning gold both times, wasn't the only hint of the Olympics Watson ran into during his China visit.

"They were ready to go a year ago," Watson said of China's preparation for the 2008 Olympics. "They have everything planned down to the Nth degree."

China's National Aquatics Center, dubbed the "Water Cube" will host swiming and diving events for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Construction on the cutting-edge building of steel and pillows of ETFE (a kind of clear Teflon), began in 2003. At night, the lighted building glows a rich blue, and by day, it traps solar energy to be used to heat the pools. [Click to enlarge]

During that planning trip last August and the choir trip this May, which involved several college students from Plymouth County, the Iowans got a taste of what the Olympics mean to the Chinese.

"They have a lot of national pride in what they're going to do," Watson said. "They're excited to host the Olympics and ready to invite the world to get to know them."

Watson and his choir of 37 students got to know the Chinese during their two-week tour singing this May. They performed six concerts in major cities including Hong Kong and Beijing, often performing jointly with Chinese choirs.

"They were very friendly and welcoming," Watson said. "At the first place we performed, we were the first western choir to perform at that university. They had big welcome signs for us."

That kind of preparation seems to be a Chinese trademark -- at least in the pre-Olympic gear up throughout the past year. As Watson said earlier, they were ready to go a year in advance.

"Throughout the last year, they ran trial runs of all events so everyone would know where they had to be, what they need to do to make things run smoothly," Watson said.

Watson and his choir saw the curving metal Beijing National Stadium, or "Bird's Nest," which will host the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics, plus the major track and field competitions, and they checked out the National Aquatics Center, designed as a luminescent "Water Cube" which will host swimming and diving events.

"The aquatic center looks like bubbles to me," said Katie Gorden, of Le Mars, who traveled to China as a choir member. "It was really interesting, more modern, stuff you wouldn't usually see."

Other area students that traveled to China included Brandon Shostak, of Le Mars, Geana Schneider, of Merrill, and Kara Yoerger, of rural Le Mars.

Back in Le Mars now, Gorden said her sense of the Chinese people was that they are very prepared for the 2008 Olympics.

"It was surprising. When we were at Tiananmen Square there were people out cleaning even the sidewalks. They're making sure every detail is taken care of," she said. "They think it's a great honor to be able to host this.

With dense population, more cars on the road, and plenty of commercial and industrial growth, air pollution marked a slight blemish on Beijing's preparation. But they countered even that, Watson said.

"They committed to having 50 percent more green areas, not only to help with the look, but also help with pollution control," he said. "Those areas are there now."

Rolling out the giant red (or green) carpet seems to extend beyond just the Olympics, Watson noted. China's tourism culture seems to be blossoming, in his estimation.

"China was as tourist friendly as a European tour," Watson said. "It was very easy to travel there."

The Iowa group found that the English language was very prevalent.

"They are tied to the U.S. like we are tied to them," Watson said. "We are their largest importer."

English, he said, is really China's second language.

Being the 2008 Olympic site only served to increase that.

"Since they learned they were going to host, lots and lots of English instruction has been available to the general populace," Watson said.

China is not the same China it was two decades ago.

"It's really a free-market society," Watson said. "They're economy has grown so fast. There's lots of construction"

While owning a car was only for a minority in China years ago, today many people who live in cities own their own vehicle.

"Now you don't see very many bikes," Watson said. "Even despite the fact that parking spots are unaffordable, let alone a car, still people are buying cars."

There was no extra military or police presence where they visited in August and May, he said. He also got the feel that the Chinese are very friendly to Americans and very optimistic.

"That's not to say there aren't problems," he said.

One of those is the division of wealth between the very rich and very poor, he said.

"Right now they're struggling to find the middle class," he said.

The rapid growth of the past 15 years has made for some complexity, Watson said. That was something he both saw and learned through conversations with people.

The Chinese he met on his trip were very open, he said.

The choir often got to visit with Chinese people after their concerts, and Watson said the optimism he found there seemed genuine.

"There's a great enthusiasm for what's going on," he said.

Iowans will get to judge for themselves -- with the 2008 Olympics beginning Friday, China will be in the center of media attention for some time.

Back in Iowa, Watson said he'll be keeping tabs on the Beijing Olympics.

"I'll be watching as much as I can. And it's fun to see the places I've been on TV," he said. "I like it all."