In the concrete and glass shopping centre in the heart of Zhengzhou thousands of spectators, many wearing red-and-white "I love China" T-shirts and waving national flags, roar in approval as they gaze up at images of the Olympic torch on a giant TV screen.
Many concerns focus on China's nationalist youth. A generation of fenqing (angry youth) has started furious online campaigns against what are seen as China's enemies - these include Nicolas Sarkozy, Sharon Stone, Steven Spielberg, the Carrefour supermarket chain, CNN, the BBC and countless other media groups. After the Tibet unrest in March at least 10 foreign journalists received death threats.
A new assertiveness is evident in the country. "In the future we will get better, we'll beat you," says Gao Yang, an insurance clerk and Chelsea supporter in Taiyuan. "We're getting stronger. Hong Kong has been returned to us. Foreigners are not as powerful as before."
This emotion is a double-edged sword for the authorities, according to Victor Cha, a professor at Georgetown University in Washington, who has published a book about the politics of sports in Asia. "There is a lot of nationalism now because of these games. The Chinese leadership knows that sometimes nationalism can be useful, but it can also be dangerous because it can turn against the government at any time." The Guardian