TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

China to issue bank notes without Mao Zedong.

China will soon issue 10-Yuan bank notes without Mao Zedong’s image on them, which currently covers all of China’s currency.

What is most telling about this, though, is what is replacing Mao on the currency. In his place will be the bird’s nest stadium in Beijing on the front, the single most well-known symbol of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and Greek statue of a discus thrower on the back.

The symbolism, I think, is not only clear, but also intentional: this is the new China, connected with the world and a part of it. This is what the Olympics means for the Chinese — a break from two centuries of suffering and chaos, a bright future where anything is possible.