大象传媒

It's all very strange.

I'd been advised by locals to head for Kunming's downtown squares for the opening ceremony. The large outdoor screens there were bound to show live coverage, they said, and lots of people would gather to watch and celebrate.

But the streets were deserted. When I arrived at the squares they'd mentioned, the big screens were just showing adverts. No people and certainly no party atmosphere.

In the end I watched the opening ceremony by finding a corner shop and peering inside. A family of three generations was sitting there and let me watch too on their small television.

Later I found some local people resorting to the same tactics.

One group with their noses pressed against the glass of a fast food restaurant; another staring into a noisy bar, all trying to watch tv through the window, without the benefit of sound.

Of course some people may have preferred to stay at home with small groups of friends. It was a rainy night after all. But others were disappointed.

They wish there'd been some sort of publicly organised event, they said, so everyone could celebrate together. After all, everyone here seems very enthusiastic about the Games. This could have been a public party to remember.

The authorities though may be more focused on public order than public partying.

Security is a worry, especially since two bombs went off on buses in Kunming last month, something almost unheard of here. Maybe a big public gathering was deemed too much of a security risk.