Less than a year after China hosted the Olympics, Beijing is planning to put its stunningly choreographed opening ceremony back on as a regular evening show at the “Bird’s Nest”, the main stadium built for the games.

Zhang Yimou, the film director who once had his works banned in his home country but is now emerging as the ruling Communist party’s chief master of ceremonies, set in scene the key cultural achievements of China at the Beijing 2008 opening ceremony. His show included achievements such as the invention of printing and kung fu, using about 15,000 soldiers, armed police and students.