The Pearl City High School Marching Band was waiting anxiously for the start of its performance on the Great Wall of China — yes, the real one — along with hundreds of other youths from around the world as part of the Beijing Olympic International Youth Festival 2008.

Suddenly, each of the 120 Pearl City members rhythmically stood up in sequence and lifted their arms to create a "wave" — and the 19 other international youth bands also performing there joined in.

"We started the wave with the other bands because we wanted to get over the language barriers," said 17-year-old Reinier Kraan-Pilor, a drum line section leader and percussionist with the Pearl City High band. "Just like music being a universal language, the wave is something everyone understands."

As a prelude to the 2008 Olympic Games, the event last week involved more than 1,500 participants from different countries. The Pearl City band was one of two bands representing the United States. The other came from Massachusetts.

The Hawai'i marching band was selected to perform after playing in California last year for the Tournament of Roses Parade. They returned Wednesday after leaving July 8.

While music brought the bands together, the cultural experience in the country sealed the deal, said percussionist Evan Lau, 15.

The band visited a few Chinese landmarks, including the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square.

"It was neat to see the Tiananmen Square because of how huge it was," Lau said. The square, the site of a number of political events over the years, sits next to the Forbidden City. "You see that kind of stuff in photos, but it's something else to actually be there."

Band director Chad Kamei said it was "an honor" to represent Hawai'i. "And I think our diversity really showed while playing on the Great Wall because we came together with the other bands."

Dressed in aloha shirts and accompanied by hula dancers, the band also performed at Olympic Culture Square, the Beijing Concert Hall Dome and Happy Valley.

Songs such as "Hawai'i Pono'i and "Aloha 'Oe" were on the program as the Chargers also performed several solo pieces during the trip.

The Pearl City band received about $10,000 in donations from local businesses and used the money toward the trip, Kamei said. The band also raised about $2,600 by selling candy, beef sticks and Jamba Juice tickets.

A parade through busy downtown Wang Fu Jing Street really tested the students' musical abilities, Kraan-Pilor said. Several Chinese government officials watched their performance.

"I just kept telling myself not to mess up," he said.

"But after that performance, I didn't expect there to be so much hype for us," Kraan-Pilor said, referring to Chinese news stations and newspapers that covered the Hawai'i band's trip to China.

Adult chaperone Rhonda Masuda's main concerns included the students' exposure to pollution and poor restroom facilities.

"The living conditions there are so dirty, but I think the kids really got an appreciation for being American," said Masuda, who accompanied son Christian Masuda, a sophomore tuba player.

"Through the aloha spirit, they really proved the festival's theme of 'One World, One Dream,' " she said.