Beijing, January 21 news "snowflakes in bloom, the world turns free and pure..." The door has not yet been fully opened, and the song has preemptively "squeezed" in. Immediately after, a tall, white-skinned boy wearing a sportswear printed with the Logo of the Beijing Winter Olympics, with a slender figure and a high nose, strode into the interview room and sat directly in the position closest to the reporter. Blonde hair was fluffy in front of his forehead, a pair of red headphones was lying on the top of his head, and his Chinese was very authentic. This is Martin, a mixed British and Serbian who came to China at the age of nine and is now a first-year student at Peking University, as well as a foreign cast member for the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
As he entered the door, he hummed a clip from the promotion song "Tribute to the Warriors" from the awards ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The day before the interview, he and other international students had just finished filming the music video of the song.
Group photo of student actors and actresses from Peking University participating in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics (Courtesy of Peking University)
As one of the foreign cast members of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Alex from Russia told reporters that the Beijing Winter Olympics is like a "feast of cultural civilization", bringing together the people of the world, where various cultural civilizations exchange and learn from each other, and jointly seek the best path towards the "community of human destiny".
Unity - "This is a snow olympics, but also a unity olympics"
If you want to use a keyword to label the Beijing Winter Olympics, Martin and Alex first think of "unity".
Martin, who has always loved ice hockey, excitedly compared with reporters, "If you want to win in the ice hockey game, you must rely on the mutual cooperation of the team, and the teammates must trust each other, respect each other, and cooperate closely." Martin felt it was a very important and valuable quality, and he enjoyed experiencing this spirit of solidarity in hockey, even though his ice skills were not very good, and he almost broke his left leg during a recent skating.
Martin was interviewed by a reporter from the Central Broadcasting Network (Photo by Gao Yining, a reporter of the Central Broadcasting Network)
During the months of participating in the performance training at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games, Martin and other friends overcame differences in language, culture, habits and other differences and gathered together at the Bird's Nest Cultural Center. They urged each other and helped each other, just to take a neat step, sing a harmonious note, and present a perfect opening ceremony for the Beijing Winter Olympics. "We are a big family, we are an inseparable whole. Whether it's our program or the Winter Olympics themselves, it condenses our spirit of unity. Martin and Alex gave each other a deep nod.
Unlike Martin,who is full of novelty love for ice and snow sports, Alex is from Siberia and has been a "princess" who has been gliding on ice and snow since she was a child, and she seems to have a passion for ice and snow sports from her genes. In fact, since the official website of the 2019 Beijing Winter Olympics openly recruited volunteers, she signed up for the first time, but unfortunately did not pass. Accidentally recommended by the school to perform at the opening ceremony in 2021, Alex said she was "so excited and unbelievable to think about it now."
Compared with previous editions, an important highlight of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is the addition of the keyword "more unity" after the Olympic motto of "higher, faster and stronger".
In the process of participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics, Alex has a deep understanding of this. "I remember a training, the day was the birthday of a classmate from Beijing Language and Culture University, someone knew and began to sing a birthday song for the birthday star, the first sentence was not finished, everyone joined, the song resounded throughout the bird's nest, and international students from different countries also sang blessings in their native languages in turn. The original cold and empty venues were instantly warm and warm, which made me suddenly feel the spiritual connotation of 'more unity' that the Beijing Winter Olympics particularly emphasized, this is an ice and snow Olympics, but also a unity Olympics! ”
When the reporter asked about the "favorite Winter Olympic athlete", Alex blurted out "Gu Ailing", "I saw the Olympic spirit in her, she in order to achieve self-worth, for the glory of the country, constantly stand up in difficulties, in the ice and snow blooming smile beautiful and powerful, admirable." ”
Alex's younger brother is an ice hockey player, and in addition to participating in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games, Alex will share photos and videos related to the Beijing Winter Olympics with his brother whenever he has time. Just last week, she had just gone to the official Winter Olympic store in Wangfujing to buy a refrigerator sticker and a key chain from the ice pier to give to her brother.
"The younger brother said that he hopes to come to China in the future to engage in ice and snow sports-related careers." Alex and her family are looking forward to this.
Alex was interviewed by a reporter from the Central Broadcasting Network (Photo by Gao Yining, a reporter of the Central Broadcasting Network)
Technology - "This is a sporting event, but also a feast of science and technology." ”
"The wonderful presentation of science and technology in the Beijing Winter Olympics also amazed me. This is not only a sports event, but also a feast of science and technology. Sapur from Turkmenistan is a 20-level doctoral student in the Department of Energy of the School of Engineering of Peking University, under the tutelage of Zhang Xinrong, professor of the School of Engineering of Peking University and president of the Beijing Energy Society, whose research group helped the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics with "zero-up artificial snowmaking technology".
Sapur at the National Speed Skating Hall (Courtesy of Peking University)
It is reported that the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will for the first time use the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide transcritical direct expansion full heat recovery method to make ice at the National Speed Skating Hall. Zhang Xinrong said in an interview with the media that the technology is currently the most advanced and environmentally friendly ice-making technology in the world, with carbon emissions approaching zero and a significant improvement in ice-making energy efficiency.
Since entering Peking University in 2020, Sapur has followed his mentor Zhang Xinrong to visit the energy technology design and application of the National Speed Skating Hall - Ice Ribbon many times, and is full of curiosity about how to achieve 100% "green energy" and achieve "zero snow making and snow storage". Talking about the professional field of Sapole, the eyes began to flash, "This is a very difficult technology, the Beijing Winter Olympics can use 100% green electricity for the first time all venues, the first time to use environmentally friendly carbon dioxide ice technology, the first time to achieve the reuse of thermal energy in the venue, which is not easy." Replacing fossil fuels with carbon dioxide also helps carbon peak carbon neutrality, which has comprehensive benefits such as economy, safety and security. ”
Sapur (Courtesy of Peking University)
Sapur is proud to be able to learn cutting-edge technology in such a strong team. He said, "After graduation, I will definitely stay in China." ”
Culture - "This is a sports competition, but also a cultural collision." ”
When asked about their expectations for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the international students interviewed began to gush and get excited.
The Beijing Winter Olympics coincided with China's Spring Festival, and the Winter Olympics also incorporated traditional Chinese cultural elements such as the Lunar New Year, which has great oriental characteristics. Alex smiled mysteriously, "The Beijing Winter Olympics are destined to leave a strong mark in the history of the Winter Olympics, and everyone will be very surprised after seeing it." ”
"This is not only a sports competition, but also a cultural collision." In the past ten years in China, Martin has lived in Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Beijing, etc., and he is already half a "China Pass". On weekdays, he is a cultural messenger between China, Britain and Serbia. Participating in the performance training at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, he communicated with more people from all over the world, "absorbing more diverse cultures and passing on more Chinese stories."
"In the great bird's nest, from all over the world, different languages, different skin colors, different cultural backgrounds, you and I play the guitar, chat about their hobbies, sing songs written together, very interesting." 」 Ji Weisen, who is now a PhD student at Peking University, said he loves the excitement of getting together. In his eyes, the Beijing Winter Olympics have provided an opportunity for all ethnic groups in the world to "shake hands" on an equal footing, where everyone can win respect with sincerity and bloom with hard work. He said that the Beijing Winter Olympics gave him a deeper understanding of the concept of a "community with a shared future for mankind."
Ji Weisen was interviewed by a reporter from the Central Broadcasting Network (Photo by Gao Yining, a reporter of the Central Broadcasting Network)
In mid-2021, President Xi Jinping wrote back to the students of Peking University, encouraging them to have a deeper understanding of the real China, introduce their ideas and experiences to more people, and play an active role in promoting people-to-people ties between people and people in all countries.
Since he came to China in 2015 and has been to many cities in China, he said that everywhere he goes now, he will habitually take out his mobile phone to record it, and his circle of friends, "every time it will attract the praise and curiosity of family and friends in foreign countries, many people leave messages saying that they also want to come to China to take a look." The southeast gate of Peking University is a fixed shooting spot in Sapur, and Sapur likes the traffic here, and every time he walks here, he will stop, take a picture, and then share it.
Throughout the interview, Sackour always referred to China as "my second motherland."
Group photo of peking university students and actors participating in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics (photo provided by Peking University)
"We especially hope that we can become a bridge between China and the world, introduce a harmonious, open and inclusive China to the world, and let more and more wonderful Chinese stories be heard, not only at the Beijing Winter Olympics." This is a common wish of Sapur and his international student friends.
Director system: Zhang Jun Yu Feng
Producer: Wang Wei, Zhao Jing
Reporter: Li Zhaodi Gao Yining
Video Planner: Gao Yining Li Zhaodi
Video Production: Huang Yibo
Design: Liu Qiyang