BEIJING — A triumphant China kicked off the 2008 Olympic Games yesterday with an extravagant opening ceremony that chronicled the country's 5,000-year history and temporarily drew attention away from the months of controversy leading up to the quadrennial event.

A day that began ominously with hazy skies took on a magical feel at the appointed hour of 8:08 p.m. Cheering crowds watched in awe inside the famed Beijing National Stadium, known as the "Bird's Nest," as thousands of performers began to drum, dance and march in perfect synchronicity.

Everything about the elaborate four-hour affair spoke to the scale of these Olympics, worthy of a host nation of 1.3 billion people: more than 91,000 audience members, 15,000 performers and 29,000 fireworks and 16,000 athletes from some 200 nations and regions who have gathered here to compete.

Organizers have kept the cost of the ceremony a secret, but estimates range from $100 to $300 million. Even the lower figure would put the bill at twice the cost of the opening ceremony at the 2004 Athens Games.

The ceremony was predicted to be the most watched television event in history, with 2.3 billion viewers tuning in live, according to research firm MindShare.

The 29th Olympiad from the beginning has been a political as well as an athletic event. In the seven years the country has been preparing for this day, China's leaders have faced controversy over their involvement in Darfur, China's rule over Tibet, media and religious freedoms and other human rights issues. Many world leaders struggled with whether to attend, but in the end about 80 — including President Bush — came.

"The historic moment we have long awaited is arriving," Chinese President Hu Jintao told them earlier yesterday. "The world has never needed mutual understanding, mutual toleration and mutual cooperation as much as it does today."

The ceremony was choreographed by Zhang Yimou, director of "House of Flying Daggers" and "Hero," and was intended to evoke romance and a "wow" factor, organizers said. There were fireworks in the shape of footprints that erupted in succession across the night sky over Beijing, creating a the image of a shimmering trail above the metropolis that ended at National Stadium. Thousands of drummers moved in perfect unison. There were also flying Apsaras, a Hindu mythological character found in China's most famous Buddhist cave paintings. Performers rolling on rice paper created calligraphy with their bodies.

"For a long time, China has dreamed of opening its doors and inviting the world's athletes to Beijing for the Olympic Games," IOC president Jacques Rogge said in his speech. "Tonight, that dream comes true."

Unlike other Olympics, when nations have marched in alphabetical order, the order of the procession of the athletes marching in was determined by the number of strokes in the first character of the Chinese version of their countries' names. The procession began about 80 minutes into the ceremonies, which culminated with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

The U.S. flag-bearer was Lopez Lomong, who will compete in the 1,500-meter race. Lomong fled Sudan and spent much of his youth in a refugee camp in Kenya.

The U.S. team — second-largest after China's with nearly 600 members — was welcomed loudly, with many in the crowd recognizing Bryant and other basketball stars who brought up the rear.

"It was a breathtaking experience walking into the stadium," said Oganna Nnamani, a volleyball player from Bloomington, Ill. "I am thankful to be part of this moment."

"This is the biggest stage," said LeBron James, who hopes to lead the U.S. basketball team to a gold medal.

NBA basketball star Yao Ming, representing his native China in the Games, carried the flag for the Chinese delegation. The appearance of the 600-strong contingent of Chinese athletes elicited a 10-minute roaring ovation from the crowd.

Other flagbearers included Swiss tennis star Roger Federer, who was celebrating his birthday, and NBA players Sarunas Jasikevicius (Lithuania), Emanuel Ginobili (Argentina), Andrey Kirilenko (Russia) and Dirk Nowitzki (Germany).

At the end of the ceremony, eight former Chinese Olympians carried a torch through the final legs of a relay that had spanned the globe and several months.

Shortly after midnight, gymnast and torchbearer Li Ning, famous for winning six medals — three gold, two silver, and a bronze — at the 1984 Los Angeles games, was hoisted above spectators' heads by ropes. Suspended in air, he circled around the stadium before using the torch he held to ignite the massive cauldron that will burn for the duration of the games.