Beijing 2008, winner's medal, silver. The design and manufacture of the medals created for the Beijing Olympic Games were approached with particular care. The obverse bears the unique design required by the International Olympic Committee: winged Victory (Nike) in the Panathinaikos Stadium in Athens. A circle of jade is inset in the centre of the reverse, reminiscent of the ancient “bi” coins, which represented the infinite circle of heaven. The emblem of the Games appears inside the jade ring. The Olympic medals evoke the nobility and elegance of a typically Chinese style. Jade, the most highly-regarded precious stone in China, gives each medal a unique character, as each stone has a different grain and an individual design. The shape of the attachment through which the red ribbon is threaded is inspired by traditional Chinese art. The medals, a marriage of Western and Chinese symbols embodied in precious materials, represent the ideal union of Chinese culture and the Olympic spirit.