Exhale, China. You made it. Take a deep breath, London. You’ve been crammed into an unenviable position — topping the Beijing Olympic exhibition.

My first Olympic experience was way back in August of 2007 under the umbrella called “Good Luck Beijing,” which was a series of events helping prepare management and venues for the 2008 Olympics. After the Games have made their mark on China, all I can say is good luck, London.

It’s not just the glitz and the glamour we saw live and on television from the opening and closing ceremonies. It’s not just the flashy, innovative architecture that made Beijing’s venues some of the world’s most extravagant. It’s not just the half-million volunteers who complimented a $40 billion investment.

The Beijing Olympics drew criticism. They drew skepticism and wonder. They drew the ire of political players who pegged the Games as a way to draw attention to human rights, pollution and media and Internet freedom. And they drew a record number of viewers who wanted to see if the show was worth the buildup. Unlike most over-hyped events, this one certainly was.

It’s not London’s fault. Many of the political issues that drew so many people to critique and assess the 2008 Olympics in Beijing don’t exist in England. Many of the problems that dogged China aren’t issues in the West. While the world was busy learning about China after Athens, it London’s bridge to the world has been crossed pre-Beijing. If China was a journey out of the ordinary, London appears to be a safe haven politically — a fine venue for another worldwide get-together. It’s something different from the previous, like Beijing was. The ante certainly won’t be as big, but that’s okay by me.

Beijing gave the world something to watch in addition to the Games — literally and figuratively. About 840 million people in China watched the Opening Ceremony, which begs the question, what were the other 450 million people doing?

Whether people loved it or hated it the fact China was the site for the 29th Olympiad, they just couldn’t look away. After all the hoopla that surrounded Beijing and calls for boycotts, only one of the 205 National Organizing Committees didn’t show up (Brunei withdrew an athlete because he didn’t meet national training guidelines).

Everybody protesting for a free Tibet got their airtime before Beijing got its. The Darfur issue got more play this summer thanks to these Olympics. Ever-so-slowly, but surely, Internet restrictions were partially lifted in a country where no such progress had ever been made. Concerns about pollution drifted away as athlete after world-class athlete kept their mouth shut on how the air affected them. The lead-up to the Games was a wakeup call, but the Olympics put those issues back to bed.

For now, the Chinese can go back to their typically introverted demeanor when it comes to facing the world’s interrogators, at least without every move under a microscope.

Without a major Olympic catastrophe, China’s $40 billion Olympic bet looks like it’s paid off.

Touché, Beijing.

Nathan Cooper covered the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. He is a part-time Tribune employee and a 2005 graduate of Glenville-Emmons High School.