One year after the Beijing Olympics, the impact of the Games on China and its poeple are back in the headlines. The Olympics have left Beijing with both material and spiritual legacies, which serves as an impetus for future transformation. The event has changed the lives of millions of people, who had been part of it.
Combining aesthetics and regulations. Lin Cunzhen and her colleagues from the Central Academy of Fine Arts are making the rules for image placement for next year's Shanghai Expo. Lin got this project because she did the same for the Beijing Olympics. She now considers more than color and pattern.
Lin said, "Unlike any single project, the Olympic design represents the national image and an overall visual effect. This experience has expanded my vision and raised my level of thinking in design."
These posters and a series of promotional products for the Games are some of Lin's pride. They reflect China's ongoing changes that brought the country closer to the world. The Olympic experience gave Lin Cunzhen a chance to show off her talents. Since then, she's won several other big projects. Two of her latest are the logo for Beijing Olympic City Development Promotional Association, and the one for the World Design Congress in October.
Lin said, "Some officials used to say sports activities do not need any promotional design to support them. But after the Olympics, people started to talk about image building and begin to understand its importance. The Olympics has upgraded the Chinese sense of design."
The Bejing Olympic Organizing Committee had over 8,000 employees and recruited 100,000 volunteers. After the Games, most of these people have returned to their original jobs or found new ones. The Olympic experience has changed their outlook as well a their lives. And these changes are still changing China.
Teng Luning was a volunteer during the Games. She still volunteers from time to time. Today, she is taking 40 teachers from China's poorer regions to see Beijing.
Teng Luning said, "In the past, I was introverted, but now I've become more open and ready to help. I hope to carry on the spirit of volunteering. This spirit is a kind of lifestyle. It has already become an integral part of my life and changed my life forever."
The 2008 Olympics helped create a volunteer spirit among Chinese. Their commitment, smiles and hard work made a big difference at the Games on many levels.
Teng Luning's husband Cui Jie was also a volunteer. That's how they met. They got married in April.
Cui Jie, Beijing Olympic Volunteer, said, "I met Teng Luning when we were doing volunteering jobs during the Olympics. Through communications and cooperation in activities, we got to know each other better, and after the Games, we started to fall in love."
The Olympics changed the lives of milions of Chinese. For Teng Luning and Cui Jie, the Games were a unique experience that left them with indelible memories. They say it's a joyful thing to look back, but their new life has just begun.
(CCTV August 8, 2009)
