Listen to the rhythm of the Winter Olympics and convey a message of friendship

Cai Yunzhe

F rom July 27 to 30， a tour of 2022 Winter Olympics sites by youths from European countries was successfully held in Beijing and Zhangjiakou， Hebei province. The event was organized by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and operated by the Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Hebei Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

The launching ceremony and story sharing session of the Beijing Winter Olympics was held at the CPAFFC on July 27. Later， 52 youth representatives from 17 European countries living in Beijing， Hebei， Shanghai， Zhejiang， Fujian， Shandong， Hubei， Guangdong， Shaanxi and Sichuan went to the headquarters of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Shougang Park， as well as to Games sites in Yanqing， a district on the outskirts of Beijing， and Zhangjiakou， for field visits.

The youths from various countries sang and laughed all the way. Among them were two tall men well into their maturity but full of energy. They kept themselves busy taking notes from the tour guide， filming every detail of the journey and sometimes talking into the microphone about what they saw and how they felt.

The two were Pavel Matvee， chief of the Beijing Bureau of C1R， and cameraman Sergey Aksenov from Russia. They were reporters traveling with the delegation. They hoped to see the preparations of the Winter Olympics and transfer the beautiful scenery of Beijing and Zhangjiakou and stories of the Winter Olympics into a friendly message to spread across Russia.

On July 27， it was raining slightly when the group arrived at the former site of Shougang， or Capital Steel Group， where the headquarters of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games and the Shougang Industrial Heritage Park are located. It is the hub of preparations and operations for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Shougang’s blast furnaces and workshops became symbols of Chinese industry after its founding in 1919. Now， the elements of Winter Olympics revitalize the old factory area. An air of history is infused with vitality inherent in the upcoming Winter Olympics. If you take a walk around， lyrics of A Song of Ice and Fire will resound in your ears.

The two Russian reporters carefully observed the Shougang Industrial Heritage Park. They took out their notebooks to write this down： With a total area of 70 hectares， the Green Axis landscape is 1.9 kilometers long and took more than 300 days to build. What amazed them was not only the smartly reinvented industrial heritage sites， but also the determination and will of the Chinese people to restore the blue sky to the capital and resolutely reshape the former steel plant.

Suddenly it started raining heavily. The two reporters covered their notes and equipment with their bodies and hastily went indoors. There was a smile of satisfaction on their faces as a mixture of sweat and rain kept dripping. What they were carrying in their arms were accurate numbers， and interesting stories supporting fascinating reports.

In the bus to the Yanqing National Alpine Ski Center， Sergey squatted on the aisle to set up the camera to shoot the scenes on the sides of the road ascending the mountains. Seeing the cameraman curled up in a corner， the bus driver， out of safety concerns， warned him. Pavel， who was nearby， replied in fluent， standard Chinese，“Don’t worry， he can hold the camera steady and film it well. This video footage is to show that China has not only beautiful stadiums， but also perfect roads and other infrastructure. To get the right angle， my colleague will have to squat for a while.”

More than 10 minutes later， Sergey got up and rubbed his numb legs. Then he immediately started talking to his colleague about how to edit it to make it look better.

After arriving in the outer corridor on the roof of the National Bobsled Center， the two reporters were shocked by the new stadium. It was arguably most difficult to design and construct， and had the most complex construction process. They recalled how much effort the Russian people had put into building the Sanki Sliding Center for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. In order to find the best camera angle， the two reporters got permission to jump onto the tracks to report live. It was not only about the dragon winding along the mountain ridges but also about the hardworking Chinese who had， with the concept of Green Olympics engraved in their hearts， meticulously completed the background survey and topsoil backfill， so that the green mountains and clean rivers remained the same after the beautiful Yanqing stadium was constructed.

At Taizicheng Olympic village in Zhangjiakou， the delegation had a look at the rooms where the Olympic athletes were about to move in. The two reporters waited until everyone had left and then began their work. Here come some lines in their reports：

“Behind me is one of the rooms for the Winter Olympic athletes. It is spacious， bright， well-decorated and furnished. The bed is neat and comfortable. I find myself comfortable in this bed despite my height of two meters. …”

They scrutinized the footage they had just shot with critical eyes：

“The room doesn’t look square enough from this angle. Let’s do it again.”

“The camera was too high on the way in， so the door appears lower than it really is. Shoot it again.”

“It is a slip of the tongue. Start again.”

It took them a full 20 minutes to shoot enough to make 30 seconds of finished video. Because of this， they missed the group photo with the delegation. As they carried their equipment and hurried to the entrance of the Olympic Village， where five rings stand， the group photo session had finished. They took a photo of themselves and said humorously that they would make a complete group photo by adding it to the one they had missed.

Three days passed quickly. When the delegates got on the bus， the two reporters began to pack， having concluded their work. Their camera， recording gear and notebooks were neatly packed into the equipment box.

“The box feels heavier than it was when we arrived，” said Sergey， again with typical Russian humor.

Yes， how could it not be heavier？ It carried with it the hard work of the two Russian reporters， joyful memories of members of the delegation and the Chinese people’s dream of hosting the Winter Olympics and welcoming the world with open arms.