Some people take delight in comparing the upcoming opening ceremony of the Guangzhou Asian Games with that of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Not Chen Weiya, however. The deputy director-in-chief in Beijing two years ago is the chief in Guangzhou. He said his goal is not to surpass the opening ceremony in Beijing, but to show the uniqueness of Guangzhou.

"A lot people asked me, 'Could you exceed the Beijing Olympics this time?' I don't like that word," Chen said in several interviews. "The opening ceremony in Beijing set a milestone, one that is impossible to exceed in a short time.

"The reason why we chose Haixinsha (site of the opening ceremony of the Guangzhou Asiad) and chose water as the major element of the opening ceremony is to demonstrate incomparability. It's like one is coffee and the other is tea. There is nothing to compare. And when we find incomparability, there is already half success."

Haixinsha, meaning "sand in the heart of the river," is a boat-shaped shoal in the Pearl River, surrounded by residential buildings and skyscrapers, including the 610-meter Canton Tower.

With the concept of "taking the Pearl River as the stage, taking the city as the background", the site of the opening ceremony in Guangzhou, unlike the traditional enclosed stadium, is open-ended. Also different from the traditional style, in which all athletes pass the entrance of the stadium, some of the competitors will make their entrance by a ship.

A total of 45 pleasure boats, featuring landmarks of the event's 45 participating countries and regions, will embark on a 9.3-km cruise on the Pearl River to Haixinsha.

"I don't know whether there will be a better opening ceremony of the Asian Games in the future. But I think this is the best and most unique one yet," Chen said.