Performances of Chinese athletes at the Beijing Olympics have San Francisco's Chinatown puffing with pride, from shopkeepers to bar patrons to older men, it was reported on Wednesday.

Not only has China put on one of the most breathtaking opening ceremonies of any Olympics, it has organized the event with immaculate efficiency and proved its athletic prowess, the San Francisco Chronicle said.

San Francisco, which has more than 744,000 residents, has a large Chinese and Chinese American population of above 152,000 in total, according to 2006 US census data.

At Li Po Cocktails on Grant Avenue in downtown San Francisco, crowds have formed after work each day since the games began, customers lining up several rows deep to cheer the Americans and the Chinese on the big screen, the report said.

"You'd be surprised how many tourists come in here and still think Chinese wear long dresses and pull their cows down the sides of the road," said an unidentified bartender, quoted by the paper. "This is giving China a chance to show everybody how advanced it is."

Lane Louie, who moved to San Francisco 40 years ago from Guangzhou, told the paper he roots for both countries. His customers at Louie Brothers Book Store on Washington Street linger a little longer than usual to talk about the Olympics, he said.

"People are chuckling at the medal count, that although the Chinese have the most gold medals of any country, NBC always puts the Americans on top because they add the total medals," he said.

With 1.3 billion people, China should be able to train and groom the best athletes just based on pure numbers, Louie said.

Daniel Lo, a shopkeeper, said that "everyone is learning a little more about China by watching these games".

(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2008)