August 22 will no doubt have special meaning for China:
– The day China first won a gold medal for tennis at the Olympics;
– The day China got its 100th gold medal in all the summer Olympics it has so far taken part in;
– The 100th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping’s birth
– Traditional Chinese Valentine’s Day (Qi Xi — the 7th day of the 7th lunar month)
This morning, Olympic gold and Deng’s 100th birthday got the heaviest exposure in the newspapers. As the frontpage of The Beijing News shows (pictured), eighth-seeded Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won China’s first tennis medal at any Olympic Games by beating No. 2 seeds Conchita Martinez and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain 6-3, 6-3, for the women’s doubles gold Sunday. Most Chinese media consider this victory as a miracle.