By Lulu Chiang
NBC Olympics Features Producer

It’s been a wild ride here at the Olympic games… a dream that I’ve had for 7 years coming to fruition in style. My first time at the Olympics and I get to see Michael Phelps smash record after record, taking home a total of eight gold medals. Let’s put it in perspective; if “Phelps” was his own country, his gold medal count would be 7th , tied with Japan and just behind South Korea. Unreal!

As Maria Bartiromo’s right hand at CNBC, I’m used to booking and producing interviews with the top CEOs of companies from around the world, government officials of the highest levels and money managers that control billions and billions of dollars. But here in Beijing at the International Broadcast Center (or, the“IBC” as most call it) my responsibility is to arrange athlete interviews and coordinate logistics with my booking partner and to coordinate everything and anything else with the NBC Universal Family (including Access Hollywood, AccessHollywood.com, CNBC, MSNBC and NBCOlympics.com). Talk about a gear switch!

And this is the best gig ever!  Our mission is simple – to make the athlete’s experience with NBC Olympics an incredible one. However, sometimes making that happen can be very very hairy.

Between competitions, practices, sponsor commitments and media interviews these athletes are working around the clock. Whether it’s transporting the Olympian from point A to point B, or making sure we get their families the proper credentials so they can have access, we are here to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

In order to make the handoff from one thing to another smooth, countless phone calls are made to make sure everyone is on the same page. You don't see any of this on camera.

I can’t believe that I only have two more days left in Beijing! The time has flown by so quickly. Maybe it’s because we’ve been working so hard, but it feels like I just arrived yesterday. Still, I miss my family so much, that I’m also excited about getting home.

It rained very hard today in Beijing and, of course, this would happen on the day that the women’s beach volleyball finals were taking place! The rain cleared in the afternoon, but returned right on time for Shaun and Amanda Beard to shoot stand-ups for the show tonight.

When I woke up this morning, I thought to myself, ‘I really don’t want to go down to watch beach volleyball; it’s POURING!’ But then I ran into Hoda Kotb from "Today" in the lobby (Al Roker wore his swimsuit to the game!), who convinced me that I couldn’t miss this gold medal game! Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh playing China, on their home turf, to defend their gold medal!

Hoda is very convincing! I put on my rain jacket, and off I went with Shaun Robinson, Access supervising producer Mike, and our crew, Mike and Wally.

The rain didn’t let up the entire match. And the spectator seats certainly weren’t covered. It was a packed stadium of 12,000, all outfitted with umbrellas and rain slickers. Our Chinese hosts were so prepared though; they were handing out ponchos to every attendee.

The match was very dramatic. The Chinese team was the last to defeat Kerri and Misty (who are now on a 108 game winning streak) and they played a smart and strategic game. But the feeling of watching our Americans drop to their knees in joy after they won was worth the potential pneumonia!

The feeling was one of being on top of the world.  

I was standing on the Great Wall of China - some 4,000 miles long and built over 2,000 years ago. It was one of those very few experiences that are awe-inspiring in the truest sense of the word.

The days here in Beijing had been extremely hazy, and many here for the Olympics had talked about visiting the Great Wall and not being able to see very far when they got there. So, when I opened my hotel room curtains and saw blue skies, I knew my prayers had been answered.

The part of the Wall we visited on this day is called "Mutianyu" in the Huairou district of Beijing. History says it was under the supervision of General Xu Da of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the early Ming dynasty. It was many watchtowers and passes built on steep hills and some precipitous cliffs. This part of the wall goes around the ridge like a flying dragon.

"T-shirts! Hats! Cold beer! Very nice!"

Walking up the road that takes you to the gondola is filled with native vendors selling everything from ice cream to Chinese slippers to miniature Great Wall replicas. When we boarded the gondola and started moving, the anticipation was growing for me. Peering out the window suspended high up in the air, I was first able to see the beautiful rolling hills that make the area so magnificently serene. And then, you see "IT." The Wall.

And it is Great. I was just awe-struck. It goes on FOREVER.

My first reaction was "How in the world did they build this?!?" You really want to see how far you can walk, just to see what is on the other side of the coming hill. The parts of the Wall are so different - in some, the floor is flat and leveled, other parts, it's slanted, other times you find yourself climbing very, very steep stairs.

(more great pics, after the jump!)

Today was exciting around these parts… very, very exciting.

Michael Phelps’ final race – giving him 8 of 8 in ’08, and the most gold medals in Olympic history – was the stuff of legend.

The games are filled with moments – and this was the moment of all moments.

The energy inside of the International Broadcast Center (IBC) today was electrifying.

At 11 AM, dozens of NBC employees were gathered in the commissary watching Dara Torres’ and Michael Phelps’ final races together. There was cheering… sighing… and high drama – it was powerful and emotional. Even though most folks didn’t have tickets to the final races at the Water Cube, this felt like the next best place to be watching the action.

Afterwards, crowds of people were gathered everywhere in clusters around the IBC, just waiting to catch a glimpse of Phelps, as he made the interview rounds --- from Costas, to Brian Williams, to “Access Hollywood” … on to NBCOlympics.com, and soon, to do the “Today” show.

Billy’s interview with Michael was fun and engaging. You can catch it Monday night on “Access”. He asks the questions that are off the beaten track.

Breakfast is always a great time of the day for me. The hotel where I am staying here in Beijing has a delicious buffet and I have to race down there every morning in time to get seconds before it closes at 10:00 AM.

This morning, just as the hostesses were telling us, “Last Call,” my friend, Jeremy, who is our miraculous Web site guy here in Beijing, invited me to accompany him to men’s gymnastics. Because this is a popular event, we wanted to get there early enough to get a good seat in the media section of the venue. If we just want to be spectators at an event, our press badges will get us in, but the seats fill up fast with the thousands of credentialed journalists here for the games. The badges will get us in - except if a guy by the name of Michael Phelps is in house and in the water. Forget it. You better have a paid ticket, or you watch it on television.

Jeremy and I scurried through the halls, up the stairs and spotted two really good seats. We sat down just at the moment the predominately Chinese audience erupted into a harmonious chant for their athletes. If you’ve been watching the games, you know they are good.

The Rings…
 
(Pictured:  Korea)













Pommel Horse...

(Pictured:  U.S.A.'s Jonathan Horton)







Floor...

(Pictured: China)







Parallel Bars

(Pictured: Italy)

On the plane ride over to Beijing, there were a lot of Olympic athletes on my flight. It was really cool to see all these men and women wearing their red/white/blue team jerseys walking through the airport. I met some of the track and field team, including Natasha Hastings, who’s running the 4x400 relay. I chatted it up with some of the wrestlers standing in the ticket line and was dying to ask them about their cauliflower ears but held back. Actually, sitting on the plane together - to the joy of the flight attendants who took lots of pictures - gold medalists Venus and Serena Williams. Seated in the aisle opposite the sisters, was Olympic gold medalist Lindsay Davenport.

All the athletes felt like stars as passengers whispered, “Who is that?” and stared every time they saw someone on Team USA.

It was until several hours on the plane that I noticed a really cute guy sitting behind me who was also wearing a USA jersey. Our conversation went something like this:

“What team are you on?” I asked very innocently. “Tennis,” he smiled.

“Oh really? There are lots of tennis players on this flight. Do you know Serena and Venus?”

“Oh, yes, I know them very well.”

“Where do you rank among players?”

“In the world, I think I’m 8th.”

“Wow! You’re pretty good. What about in the States?”

“Uh, well. I think I’m pretty much near the top.”

“Oh really? Impressive. What’s your name?”

From the Managing Editor

One of the most exciting parts about being over in Beijing, amongst many high points, is that it’s the first time Access Hollywood has had an online staffer travel along with the TV team to an Olympics, which goes a long way to explain how important online coverage has become since 2004  -- both to Access Hollywood, and to NBC Universal as a whole.

There are 16 bodies here in Beijing from Access Hollywood --- 15 for the television show, and 1, namely, myself, for AccessHollywood.com. We all share a very small space together in the International Broadcast Center, and so we work very closely (figuratively, and literally… together).

Our ratio of on-air to online is pretty much in line with the rest of the NBC Universal team here overall. While NBC has had huge numbers on-air this Olympics, the percentage increase on NBCOlympics.com has been staggering! Only four days into the games, NBCOlympics.com has already surpassed the totals for the entire Athens Games in page views (a 27% jump), unique users (a 52% jump), and video streams (a staggering 514% jump!!!) -- and that’s with 12 days of competition left to go!

There are plenty of online journalists here in Beijing, but seriously, I probably have one of the best jobs out of any of them. Sure, there are plenty of sports journalists out here, reporting on results and injuries and doping -- but not me -- I’m writing about athletes’ personalities, and asking them, ‘Who are your favorite movie stars?’, and running all around town with stars like Chris Tucker – filing articles, and even more fun, doing a lot of digital photography.

Each day, I head out with our show’s field producers and listen to and assist on the interviews that we’re conducting (most of my career has been as an on-air producer). Occasionally, I’ll field produce a shoot here or there if the show can use my help. And like most print and online journalists, I rarely have to use my digital voice recorder, because the TV show is already rolling on the interview.

Last night, while shooting our show, a woman was standing in the crowd, holding this baby. I took a picture. Many others did too... this baby represents the youth of this country... steeped in history but young in capitalism and open society. There is innocence to all the people in China. They are very gracious and optimistic, patient and hopeful. 

That baby says it all to me. I've tried to explain it.

I am currently waiting for Phelps at the side door to the “Water Cube”... an interview is my quest. The great thing about covering the Olympics, if you want to do it right, is you have to be willing to run, sweat, linger by a door, hustle and bump. We're doing that and you're all watching.

Thanks.

I am inside and watching the Mens' gymnastics finals and the U.S. team, massively the underdog, is doing well. We’re in the middle of rotation #4 out of 6; the U.S. Team is 2nd. China just passed them. Our guys are performing nearly flawlessly.  

The Chinese are loud and proud. This guy next to me (see photo) is so loud my eardrum nearly popped a minute ago.

"China! China!"… That's how it goes... not very complex, but solid enough.

China is expected to win. Maybe I'll have a "Zelig" moment and run out there on the mat mid Chinese routine... to sacrifice for country... maybe not.

These guys all have the same bodies. It’s amazing. Stout, buff, compact. Gluteus muscles that could crack walnuts. Sorry... stream of conscience here.

Go USA!!

I am finally able to sleep through the night here in Beijing. The time difference is 15 hours ahead of Los Angeles so for the first several days, waking up every few hours during the night was normal. I'm on the other side of the world, which has been very isolating at times. There are a lot of NBC shows here covering the games and for the most part, you see them traveling as a large group which seems like a lot of fun and can only add to the joy of being in another country. The people I'm personally traveling with usually separate into their own socially comfortable groups and I often find myself solo.  

You probably heard the news that an American tourist here for the Olympics was stabbed to death and his wife critically injured in a random knife attack in Beijing, so I am very mindful of that when I venture out by myself, especially as a single woman who can be a target no matter where in the world you are. A lot of my family and friends have been calling and e-mailing, making sure that I'm OK and I tell them that I am fine and will keep my wits about me.  

I oftentimes feel like that person in a strange land who, on one hand is very scared and nervous about their new surroundings but on the other is overwhelmed by the exhilaration of new experiences. I would certainly rather have a traveling partner to explore new areas but, I don't want to miss out on anything this Asian city has to offer.