China promised another spectacular opening event and delivered it Friday in a festival of fireworks and Pearl River pageantry to mark the start of the Asian Games.

Two years after the Beijing Olympics in the Chinese capital, the southern city of Guangzhou _ which for a long time served as China's window to the world _ opened the world's second-biggest multi-sports event with an aqua-themed ceremony.

Athletes were ferried on 45 boats to an island venue shaped like the bow of a ship for an extravaganza of light, water and flames. More than 10,000 athletes from 45 countries or territories are competing in 42 sports starting Saturday and finishing Nov. 27.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao declared the games open toward the end of the nearly four-hour ceremony, also attended by other Asian dignitaries and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge.

"Remember, you are part of history right here, right now," Olympic Council of Asia president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said during the ceremony. "Please show us your best performance, and show us the spirit of sportsmanship, fair play, friendship and respect to your fellow athletes and officials."

The ceremony was choreographed by Chen Weiya, who was deputy to famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou who crafted the Beijing opening.

"This part is a salute to those who make the Guangzhou's success possible and to all the Asian people who never surrender in faces of dooms or disasters," said Chen. "The ship is like Guangzhou, like China, and the whole Asia is sailing for a brighter future."

The massive scale of the opening ceremony posed logistical issues for the Chinese organizers.

Except for members of the public who won a lottery for tickets to the show, most residents in the city of 10 million had little choice but to watch on TV.

The downtown area was locked down near the stadium and residents within a one-kilometer radius were ordered to leave their homes for the night _ apparently to eliminate the threat of sniper fire.

Many downtown subway stations were closed Friday for security sweeps and streets in the vicinity of the opening ceremony were unusually quiet for a bustling city of more than 10 million.

There will be 28 gold medals awarded Saturday on the first day of full competition, with finals in shooting, swimming, triathlon, judo, weightlifting, gymnastics and in dance sports, which is making its debut at the Asian Games.

India has a good chance in the shooting, with Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang in action. Japan has the leading contenders in the women's triathlon and judo, but China is again expected to lead the way from the start in the overall medal count.

The first medal of the 2010 Asian Games is likely to be in wushu, the indigenous Chinese martial arts. Defending champion Yan Ziaochao is the leading contender in men's changquan, which opens the competition.

After investing billions of dollars in venues and orchestrating civil obedience campaigns designed to ensure Guangzhou plays the perfect host, China saved a warning for its athletes until the hours leading up to the opening ceremony.

In an address to athletes and officials, Chinese Olympic Committee president Liu Peng ordered the country's representatives to "behave," urging them to heed lessons from the "Wang Dalei incident."

Wang, the brash Chinese goalkeeper, was suspended indefinitely earlier this week for posting a stream of rants on his micro-blogging site attacking his critics _ calling them "a bunch of dogs" and "morons" _ after his football team lost its opening match to Japan.

He was benched for China's second match on Wednesday, then suspended and ordered to "meditate on his actions."

It was the first blight on the games, for which preparations have been meticulous.

China's official news agency, Xinhua, quoted Liu as saying Wang's "ill-natured" actions had a "negative effect on society" and breached the team's code of conduct.

"It is understandable to lose a soccer game," Liu was quoted saying. "It is unforgivable to have disgraceful acts such as swearing at soccer fans. The Chinese delegation never tolerates such actions."

Chinese officials have talked openly this week about overhauling the state-run sports systems and enhancing the programs to include more emphasis on overall development rather than purely on results.

"We should put more efforts in education about moral conduct, raise the moral standard of the Chinese athletes, make the Chinese athletes stronger and more civilized," Liu said.

Of the 977 athletes on China's Asian Games team, 655 will be competing at a major international multi-sports event for the first time.