I did too! Some observations...
1) I couldn't help but notice that most of the displays were made up of lots of individuals coming together acting as one (the drummers, the ink blockers, the lighted guys, etc). As individuals, they're pretty ordinary, but when acting in unison, it was amazing.
The 'collective' acting in harmony was very apparent. I'm probably generalizing here, but it seems in the U.S., we seem to focus more on the talent of individuals.
2) The children dressed in the traditional dress to represent all of the ethnic groups of China carrying the flag - If it were in the US, they probably would have gotten real representatives from each of those ethnic groups to march instead of using local Beijing-ers playing the part. While the dress was different for each of the children, their physical features all looked the same.
3) The military involvement and the 'tribal' drumming felt like they were also trying to show their growning strength.