"Fou" drums from Olympic opening ready for auction

2009-03-03 23:48:55 GMT2009-03-04 07:48:55 (Beijing Time) Xinhua English

A man checks traditional Chinese musical instrument "fou", or drum, at a pre-auction exhibition in Beijing, capital of China, March 3, 2009. About 1,000 "fou", which were used for performances at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, are to be auctioned as the Olympic legacy in Beijing from March 8. (Xinhua photo)

People check traditional Chinese musical instrument "fou", or drum, at a pre-auction exhibition in Beijing, capital of China, March 3, 2009. (Xinhua photo)

About 1,000 "fou", which performers used to spell out the countdown numbers at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games, are to be auctioned as the Olympic legacy in Beijing from March 8.

A total of 2,008 traditionally-styled drums fitted with lighting pads, illuminated the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium with huge countdown numbers formed by every individual performer on the night of Aug. 8, 2008.

The first batch of 1,000 drums would be sold in packages on March 8 in the exchange. The recommended price for 10-unit package is 11,000 to 13,000 yuan (1,911.76 U.S. dollars), while there would also be 20-unit, 30-unit and 50-unit packages, said the CBEX spokesperson Liang Yu.

The remaining drums might be auctioned individually so that more people could collect a significant Olympic memento, said Liang.

Up to a tenth of the drums will be available through online auction, where prospective buyers could register at the Jinmajia online bidding system, so as to allow broader public participation, said Liang. The system is tailored for the disposal of Olympic-related assets.

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