Portuguese people and media Saturday highly praised the dazzling opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics a day earlier.

"The Olympic opening last night was spectacular. I've never seen a show like this before." said an old man on the street of Porto, Portugal's second largest city.

"Everybody I know loves it!" he said with excitement.

In cafes and restaurants, the opening ceremony is all but the Portuguese and Chinese can talk about.

Taxi driver surnamed Lopes said the opening ceremony really surprised him.

It is hard to imagine that China can show its profound culture and history in less than an hour, he said, noting that the Portuguese radio has dubbed the ceremony as the best ever in history.

The driver said he had been to Beijing a dozen years ago, but the Beijing he saw on television is different and modern now.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2008)