From a Beijing Olympic Games ticket signed by Bryan Clay to a medal dating back to the ancient Olympics in 356 B.C., Jin De Silva has amassed one of the most impressive collections of Olympic memorabilia in the world.

And that's not hyperbole. De Silva has been honored numerous times by the International Olympic Committee for his vast collection of Olympic history.

He added to his collection this summer when he was invited by Olympic officials to participate in the 2008 Beijing games, receiving participatory medals and limited- edition Olympic plaques.

Basking in China's Olympic afterglow, local event organizers invited De Silva to take part in this year's Splendor of China Cultural Festival at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall, where his Beijing memorabilia and other collectibles are being displayed.

"That's the 'temple of heaven,' " De Silva said, pointing to a plaque he received in Beijing. "Very, very few were made," he said.

More than 130 exhibits and vendors filled the hall, displaying some of China's impressive art, jewelry, silk dresses, clothing and food. Throughout the day, the festival's center stage hosted performances by Chinese acrobats, lion dancers, musicians and other guests from China.

The Chinese National Performing Arts group, featuring a face-changing magician and the Sichuan Opera also performed.

The festival continues today.

While the festival included authentic — and some not-so-authentic — Chinese delights, De Silva's Olympic display seemed to capture the imagination.

"He has so much memorabilia, it could fill McKinley High School," said Linda Louie, co-chairwoman of the event.

De Silva, a former track athlete from Sri Lanka, became an Olympic collector after having his own dreams of gold crushed in 1948.

A young track star, De Silva qualified for the Olympics, but Sri Lanka could not afford to send him.

"I was disappointed. So this is how I decided I would fulfill my Olympic dreams," he said.

Meanwhile, local vendors exhibited other kinds of Chinese trinkets and wares. There were silk dresses and jackets, jewelry made of jade and other precious stones, artwork and sculptures.

And what would a Chinese festival be without pandas? There were panda hand towels, panda T-shirts, panda hats, watercolor pandas, panda wood carvings, stuffed pandas, enormous inflatable pandas, even a panda mascot.

At a booth called Panda Land, tables and shelves were lined with stuffed pandas in various shapes and sizes — from momma and baby pandas, to bean bag pandas, to panda pencil clips. While adorable, the booth had a serious mission — raise money for the Chengdu Panda Reserve in Sichuan, China, which recently suffered a 7.9 magnitude earthquake.

"It's the largest panda reserve in the world," said Louie, who helped organize the fund-raiser.

Louie said the earthquake completely destroyed the reserve and she displayed before-and-after pictures showing the contrast. Only one panda died, but many were in emotional shock. About 150 pandas live at the reserve.

"They didn't even want to touch the ground," Louie said.