China at the 2008 Summer Olympics

China at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Flag of China
IOC code	CHN
NOC	Chinese Olympic Committee
Website	www.olympic.cn (in Chinese and English)
in Beijing
Competitors	639 in 28 sports
Flag bearers	Yao Ming[1] (opening) Zhang Ning (closing)
Medals Ranked 1st	Gold 48 Silver 22 Bronze 30 Total 100
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1952 1956–1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Other related appearances
Republic of China (1924–1948)

China was the host nation of the 2008 Summer Olympics. China was represented by the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), and the team of selected athletes were officially known as Team China.

As the host country, China had a total of 639 athletes qualified for places on the national team, being the largest in its Olympic history. Chinese athletes qualified to compete in all 28 Olympic sports for the first time. Among these athletes, 469 had competed at their first Olympics, 165 in Athens 2004, and 37 in Sydney 2000. Diver Guo Jingjing, shooter Tan Zongliang and basketballer Li Nan, made their fourth Olympic appearances, having first competed in Atlanta 1996. China also included 460 officials, making a total of 1,099 delegates.^[2][3] According to Olympic protocol, China entered as the last nation into the Beijing National Stadium during the opening ceremony, and was led by basketballer Yao Ming and Lin Hao, a 9-year-old primary school student who had rescued two schoolmates during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

China dominated the rankings for the first time with 51 gold medals (China was later stripped of 3 golds in weightlifting for doping violations). In 2009, Team China won the Laureus World Sports Awards for the Best Team of the Year. The team excluded athletes from the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, which competed separately as Hong Kong, China.