(Beijing, May 22) On the opening day of the "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 China Athletics Open, Li Yanfeng of China snatched the first gold of the event this evening in the women's discus. Olympic champion Liu Xiang made his debut at the National Stadium, cruising into the semifinals of the men's 110 meter hurdles with 13.63 seconds.

A one-minute mourning for the victims in the recent devastating Wenchuan Earthquake was arranged before the morning competitions with donation boxes installed inside and outside the stadium for the quake relief.

Today's competitions was highlighted by the debut of Liu Xiang, Athens Olympic champion and world-record holder in the men's 110m hurdles. In the eye-attracting heat race, Liu clocked 13.63 to top his group. Liu's compatriot Shi Dongpeng led the semifinalists with 13.58.

"The track in the "Bird's Nest" is easily adaptable and I feel more confident about the Olympics," Liu said after the race.

Li Yanfeng from China's Heilongjiang Province won the first gold of the China Open in the women's discus with a personal best mark of 63.79 meters. Song Aimin from Hebei Province edged her Australian rival Dani Samuels with her last attempt of 63.74 to grab the silver.

In the women's 10000m, China's Zhang Yingying earned the gold with a time of 31:38.35, with the silver and bronze going to Bai Xue and Chen Rong respectively. Xing Huina and Sun Yingjie, who had applied for the competition, pulled out of the race.

In the men's 100m, China's Hu Kai clocked 10.29 seconds to finish first in the qualification round while Wang Jing achieved her personal best for an 11.47 seconds finish to lead the women's 100m preliminary round.