The Spring Festival holiday has passed, and manufacturers of licensed commodities for the Beijing Winter Olympics have resumed work, but the "ice pier" is still in demand. On February 8, there was still a long queue at 9 p.m. at the Beijing Winter Olympics Licensed Commodity Flagship Store in The Gongmei Building in Wangfujing, Beijing, but even if you waited for hours to queue up for admission, you could only receive the "Ice Pier" pre-sale card for delivery on February 22.
But just when countless people are diligently seeking "ice piers", Zhang Wenquan, a 35-year-old Beijinger, is sitting on a whole wall of various "ice piers", and has long realized the "freedom of ice piers". Zhang Wenquan told the Red Star News reporter: "I now have seventy or eighty plush toys and handmade 'ice piers', if you count the other collections of 'ice piers', there should be more than 200!" Probably in addition to factories and shops, my 'ice piers' here are the most in the country, and I can be regarded as the 'king of ice piers'! ”
Zhang Wenquan is not a speculator of "hoarding", as a collector of Olympic souvenirs, "ice piers" are only a small part of Zhang Wenquan's collection, "I have souvenirs of the Summer Olympic Games, Winter Olympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, and universiade, with a total of about 5,000 pieces." 'Ice Pier' I began to collect in 2019, before many people around me did not understand me, think that I have no sense of spending money, mental problems! But now that the 'ice pier' is on fire, their attitude has changed drastically, and they all want to get or buy from me! ”
Zhang Wenquan sits on a whole wall of various "ice piers"
Beijing guys have spent more than 20 years collecting Olympic collections
Hobbies are very money-burning, and the collection costs up to four or five hundred thousand yuan
At the end of a small hutong in Beijing's West Second Ring Road, there is a humble door face, which is crowded every day, but few people think of crossing the cramped aisle. There's actually a hole in it — the now highly sought-after "ice pier", where the entire wall is piled up in a hut of more than 30 bungalows.
The owner of the room, Zhang Wenquan, is an ordinary construction company employee in Beijing and One of China's most avid Olympic collectors, with more than 5,000 Olympic-related souvenirs in his home.
"This is the oldest in my collection – the original torch for the 1936 Berlin Olympics!" Zhang Wenquan handed a golden screw-shaped torch to the Red Star News reporter to observe, and then picked up a silver torch with a glass head next to it and introduced, "This is the torch of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, and these two torches were purchased by me for tens of thousands of yuan." In comparison, I think this torch of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics is more precious, it should be that the glass on top of him is easy to break, and other collectors in China at that time also bought it, but it was damaged during transportation, and there are regrets after repairing it. I've kept this the best, which is pretty rare. ”
Zhang Wenquan, who has been fascinated by collecting Olympic memorabilia since the 2000 Sydney Olympics, said collecting such things is really addictive. For more than 20 years, he has collected souvenirs from the Summer Olympic Games, Winter Olympic Games, Youth Olympic Games and Universiade after the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, "mainly mascots, torches, venue models, and landscape flags." ”
Zhang Wenquan told the Red Star News reporter that over the years, his spending on the Olympic collection is about four or five hundred thousand, so far he has not started a family, "This hobby is still very expensive, in addition to some necessary expenses in life, almost all my salary is used for collection." In the process of collecting the collection, some friends will sponsor me. Although the collection has brought me a great burden, but when I encounter precious collections, if I don't buy them, I may miss it in this life, spending so much money, but also because I don't want to leave regrets. ”
Zhang Wenquan's collection of various "ice piers"
The love of the Olympics is not only reflected in the collection
Already a "double Olympic volunteer", often holding exhibitions
Many people will think that Zhang Wenquan is very "crazy", but his love for the Olympics is not only reflected in spending money to buy collections, in real life, Zhang Wenquan is also doing the activities to promote the Olympic Games.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Zhang Wenquan volunteered at wukesong baseball stadium, responsible for printing and distributing results. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Zhang Wenquan also actively signed up to become a city volunteer, giving himself the honor of "Double Olympic Volunteer". In the MV of the Theme Slogan of the Beijing Winter Olympics promoting the song "Together to the Future", Zhang Wenquan also appeared. His WeChat name is called "Little Prince of the Olympics", and he shares a lot of Winter Olympics-related information in the circle of friends every day, "Helping the Winter Olympics, it is indispensable!" ”
Previously, Zhang Wenquan had held exhibitions of Olympic collections in some primary and secondary schools in Beijing, "During the Winter Olympics, I also held exhibitions at the China Science and Technology Museum, the China Film Museum and some city volunteer sites. Now there's a limited edition 'ice pier' that I like and isn't here and is being lent out for exhibition. The community neighborhood committee is also discussing with me and wants to use my collection to hold an exhibition in the near future. ”
Zhang Wenquan's old bungalow was divided into four spaces, including an attic, filled with all kinds of Olympic collections, and there was almost no place to get down. He said his parents were still very supportive of his hobbies, "My father specially built 8 shelves for me in this room to store the collection. ”
In this room, the most attractive thing now is Zhang Wenquan's collection of various "ice pier" souvenirs, he told the Red Star News reporter: "Now that the ice pier is on fire, some people may think that I am hoarding Juqi." But in fact, it took me nearly 3 years since 2019 to collect so many ice piers. ”
Before the "ice pier" was on fire, Zhang Wenquan took action, which allowed him to collect almost all the styles. But now, the popularity of "Ice Pier" has also brought trouble to Zhang Wenquan, "Today (February 9) afternoon, the New Year special edition of 'Ice Pier' was sold online, and I was unable to grab it." The ice pier is on fire, and more people are paying attention to the Beijing Winter Olympics, which is a very happy thing, but it affects their own collection plan, which is also distressing. This, like the collection itself, is a happy and painful thing. ”
Among all of Zhang Wenquan's "ice piers" collection, he is most happy with the astronaut version, "This version is a special edition, which was also bought by a friend, which is very futuristic and also in line with the theme of 'Together to the Future' of the Beijing Winter Olympics." ”
Zhang Wenquan's collection of various "ice piers", the second from the left in the first row is the astronaut version of the ice pier
"King of the Ice Pier" now wants "Rongbao"
I hope to be a volunteer of the Chengdu Universiade, it is best to be a torchbearer
On the evening of February 8, Zhang Wenquan took a taxi to the flagship store of licensed commodities for the Beijing Winter Olympics in Wangfujing. When the taxi driver on the road learned that he was the collector of the "ice pier", he immediately connected his son by video and told Zhang Wenquan: "This person has a lot of 'ice piers'!" ”
At the moment when the "ice pier" has become the top stream, Zhang Wenquan has also received high attention. He said that in the past, many people around him did not understand themselves, "they will think that it is useless for me to spend money like this, and even think that I have mental problems!" But I feel like doing what I love, don't care too much about what other people think, collecting Olympic memorabilia makes me more optimistic and positive, and I think that's the harvest. ”
Zhang Wenquan said that at the moment when "a pier is difficult to find", the attitude of those who did not understand themselves and questioned themselves in the past has changed greatly, "I have suddenly become popular now, and people who used to think that I spent money indiscriminately have also come to me and want to buy ice piers from me or at a low price." I also had good friends who asked me to send them a few, but I was really reluctant to do so. ”
Zhang Wenquan said that he would never sell his collection, "I don't like the exchange of items with other Tibetan friends, that is, this time I exchanged a down jacket for the Beijing Winter Olympics with several collections." ”
At the end of the interview, when he learned that the Red Star News reporter was from Chengdu, Zhang Wenquan was excited, "I very much want the mascot of the Chengdu Universiade', 'Rongbao', and now I have some souvenirs of the Chengdu Universiade, but there is no 'Rongbao'!" ”
Zhang Wenquan said that he would like to go to Chengdu to participate in the work of the Universiade, "I have also collected some souvenirs of the Universiade before, such as the torch of the Shenzhen Universiade and the model of the main torch tower of the Beijing Universiade." If I have the opportunity this summer, I hope to be a volunteer at the Chengdu Universiade, and if I can become a torchbearer, it is the best! ”
Red Star News special correspondent Jiang Shan photographed Wang Hongqiang in Beijing
Edited by Wang He
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