Light beams, fireworks and water jets exploded from the banks of the Pearl River as China marked the opening of the Asian Games, two years after dazzling the world with a gala opener to the Beijing Olympics.

Unlike the land-bound festivities at the Bird's Nest stadium that featured thousands of performers moving in coordination in 2008, Asian Games directors paid tribute to coastal Guangdong province's seafaring heritage on Friday.

The provincial capital Guangzhou, in particular, is a key Chinese port that has served as a hub for international trade since the days of imperial rule.

The venue on tiny Haixinsha island was configured like a sailboat for the 4 1/2-hour opening festivities designed by Chen Weiya – famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou's deputy when he crafted the Beijing ceremony. The 27,000-capacity stadium stood as the cabin; four towering pillars in front of it unfurled eight video screens that doubled as sails.

The ceremony kicked off with a small boy floating down from the sky on a leaf-like carriage lit in green. He poured water from a bottle, setting off giant fountains which sprayed in arcs across the stage.

Four dozen water goddesses seemed to walk across the water, followed by a dozen fairies rising out of pools in the stage floor. Performers flapping large pieces of red cloth scrambled across the stage to create the image of petals dropping on water. Other actors entered in a large sampan-like vessel, recreating a journey in rough seas, with the would-be sailors swaying on ropes and ladders amid waters represented by large flags waved by hundreds of dancers.

Star classical pianist Lang Lang performed on a white grand and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" actress Zhang Ziyi sang as synchronized swimmers danced and water sprouted before them. Performers on jet skis zoomed into the stadium and performed tricks.

In a playful segment, dozens of dancers attached to wires seemed to run across cityscapes flashed across the video screens, climbed mountains and formed formations to look like eagles flying through the sky.

In keeping with the night's nautical theme, instead of walking into the stadium, the athletes arrived on boats which ferried them down the Pearl River. Brightly illuminated in bulbs of different colors, the 45 boats were decorated with Asian landmarks - including Japan's Mount Fuji, Cambodia's Angkor Wat, Jordan's Petra and India's Taj Mahal. China was represented by the Temple of Heaven, the Bird's Nest and the country's pavilion from the recently concluded Shanghai World Expo.

Director Chen had the tough task of matching the jaw-dropping lighting of the cauldron in Beijing, where retired gymnast Li Ning performed the honors while suspended in mid-air. He got creative instead. When the final torch bearer, Olympic champion diver He Chong, approached the Guangzhou cauldron - which emerged from the stage supported by four giant arches - he lit a big firecracker with two children who then muffled their ears. The sparks that followed set the cauldron aflame.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiaobao declared the games open. He was joined in the dignitaries box by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, as well as International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge.

As the athletes marched into the stadium, one closely watched entrance was the Japanese. Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have deteriorated recently after Japanese officials arrested a Chinese captain near islands claimed by both sides, a move that sparked protests across the country. The Japanese delegation were cheered - but less boisterously than other teams such as North Korea and Pakistan and the semiautonomous Chinese territory Hong Kong, with whom Guangzhou shares a common Cantonese culture. Taiwan, the self-ruled island that split with the mainland amid civil war in 1949, was also welcomed warmly.