a riverside spectacular to open the asian games. where else in the world can you see a show like this? so big, ambitious, so expensive. few ordinary chinese got close, of course. security is a big concern. but they managed as they could to catch a glimpse. and of the city center, we found fans. >> of these asian games make us feel that our country is more powerful than other countries. >> more powerful? >> yes, more powerful. >> it is an opportunity for china's leaders to show the people how far they have come. it helps to reinforce the message that this is now a modern, prosperous nation, a giant in asia. china will win the most medals here. it is a sporting superpower. these games are a chance to test young athletes. opening night went off without a hitch. bbc news. >> i just briefly, is strike closed most of the cultural attractions on friday. it is a protest against government plans to cut nearly $400 million from the culture budget over three years. the latest headlines for you this hour on bbc world news. supporters from burma

the g-20 marks the coming of age for south korea, building on its economic credentials as an asian giant. but many here can still remember a time when prosperity was barely a dream. >> this is seoul, capital of korea. today, it is a shell. >> at the end of the korean war, the people were struggling to survive. archive footage shows major thoroughfares reduced to rubble. >> and this is the very same street nearly 60 years later. it has been a remarkable transformation. from being an international battlefield, south korea literally rose from the ashes, transforming itself from one of the world's poorest countries to one of the richest. and the transforming is still going on. seoul is a city of continuous construction, spending the money that flows in from the caribbean plans -- the korean brands that have gone global. it is the change of a generation. >> in the 60's and '50's, we have development aid from other countries. we want to give back in terms of community development. >> are there lessons from the developing world in what you meant to exit -- managed to achieve in the last 20 year

the g-20 marks a coming of age for south korea, building on its economic credentials as an asian giant, but many here still remember a time when prosperity was barely a dream. , capital of seoul korea. >> at the end of the korean war, seoul and its people were struggling to survive. archives show a ruined city, major thoroughfares reduced to rubble. this is the very same seoul street nearly 60 years later. it has been a remarkable transformation from being an international battlefield. south korea literally rose from the ashes, transforming itself from one of the world's poorest countries to one of the richest. and the transforming is still going on. seoul is a city of continuous construction, spending the money that flowed in from the high- tech korean brands that have gone global. it means south korea has experienced opposite ends of the wealth spectrum all in the space of a generation. wein the 1960's and 1950's, received development aid from other countries. we want to give the to other communities, what we have received. >> are there lessons for the developing world in what you ha