A visitor takes a selfie with decorative installations with the theme of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at Yanqing Railway Station in Yanqing District of Beijing, Jan. 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)
BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Ahead of the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, festive and Olympic-themed decorations can be seen throughout the city, including flower beds, lanterns, banners and posters.
Chen Yong, a 53-year-old native of Beijing and a volunteer at a nucleic acid testing venue on the Olympic Village Street in Beijing's Chaoyang District, says he has been highly anticipating the Winter Olympics.
"On Jan. 22, I watched a splendid fireworks display on my balcony. Though it was just a rehearsal, the show was impressive, making me look forward to the opening ceremony even more," Chen said.
Chen's Olympics story began 20 years ago.
In 2002, while Chen was the head of Wali Village, a relocation program was launched ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics for the construction of a state-of-art sports complex consisting of the well-known "Bird's Nest" national stadium and the national aquatics center dubbed as Water Cube.
"Wali was later renamed Olympic Village Street, the only street in Beijing to be named after the Games," said Chen who then became director of the cultural and sports center of the street.
"I didn't follow many sports in the past, but promoting the Olympic culture has been part of my life since 2008," Chen said. "The Winter Olympic Games will definitely push the Olympic passion of Chinese people to a new height."
According to the country's winter sports governing body, the number of Chinese people who have participated in winter sports training, amateur or professional competitions, and winter sports-related leisure activities has reached 346 million, surpassing the goal of 300 million set in 2015 when Beijing won the Olympic bid. That figure means one in four Chinese people has taken part in winter sports or related activities at least once.
Over the past 20 years, Cao Wenfeng, a businessman from Beijing, has traveled to 215 countries and regions, even the South Pole. No matter where he goes, Cao did the same thing -- introducing Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at public places.
"When Beijing bid for the Olympics in 1999, I read a foreign media report questioning Chinese people's willingness to host the Games," Cao said. "The truth is we are all very supportive. At that time, I decided to go out and let more people know what we ordinary Chinese really think about the event."
Cao has poured tens of millions of yuan out of his own pockets into the publicity campaign, but he said he has no regrets.
"COVID-19 has forced me to halt the global tour but I never stopped promoting the Games," said Cao who, supported by local authorities, put up eight display boards at his community to introduce the history of the Winter Olympics and the Beijing Games.
"When everything returns to normal, I will set out again to show the world the fruitful results of the Beijing Winter Olympics," Cao said. ■
