The exchange of badges is a unique social culture of the Olympics. How to make this tradition have a "New Year's flavor"? Volunteers from Yanqing Winter Olympic Village made Chinese knots by hand, sending blessings with a strong New Year flavor to foreign friends, adding Chinese elements to the Olympic tradition of exchanging badges.
Since the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, the exhibition areas of traditional Chinese culture in the Yanqing Winter Olympic Village Square Area and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Experience Hall have attracted a large number of foreign athletes every day. Seeing the lingering foreign friends, combined with the Olympic culture of exchanging badges, the volunteers had an idea to send blessings to foreign friends.
Originally, at the Winter Olympics, athletes, team officials, media reporters, and volunteers would exchange badges to promote exchanges and friendship. Each small badge carries the cultural elements of various countries and conveys the common desire of "faster, higher, stronger and more united".
"Why don't you try to send a Chinese knot?" Wang Linxiao, a volunteer from China University of Petroleum (Beijing), said that in order to send blessings to her classmates during the Spring Festival, she specially brought some red ropes made of Chinese knots before entering the village. Everyone hit it off, and through the video learning, everyone quickly learned to weave Chinese knots.
On the opening day of the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 4, volunteers sent the first Chinese knot. Receiving the Chinese knot was an athlete from the Russian Olympic Committee, who liked it very much and gave back a bear badge from the Russian Olympic Committee. When he learned that it was done by the volunteers themselves, the athlete showed a look of disbelief. The volunteer said: "This is the Chinese knot, which symbolizes unity, auspiciousness and peace. It also symbolizes China's connection with the world. Listening to the volunteer's introduction, the athletes thought the meaning was great and hung it on their registration cards.
After the first Chinese knot was successfully delivered, other volunteers also joined the ranks of making Chinese knots. "We mainly make auspicious knots because it symbolizes auspiciousness and peace, and we hope that all athletes will pay attention to the safety of the game and return safely while achieving excellent results." Chen Jiangyu, a volunteer in the management business field of the Winter Olympic Village, said that using the break to make Chinese knots made the volunteers feel a great sense of accomplishment.
The little Chinese knot, full of good wishes, is welcomed by foreign friends. One Canadian female athlete pinned it to her national badge; two Australian athletes pinned it to their registration cards; and others said they wanted to keep it.
"We hope that the Chinese knot can build a bridge of friendship, take Yanqing as the starting point, and pass on the blessings to the rest of the world." Chen Jiangyu said.