CRI听力: Beijing auctions Olympic items on Games' anniversary

More than 20 items of Beijing Olympic Games memorabilia - ranging from commemorative envelopes to a barbell - were auctioned Saturday on the first anniversary of the Beijing Games.

XYee has more.

Reporter:

The "China Beijing Equity Exchange", or CBEX, the state company appointed by Games organizers to dispose of assets, put many Olympic souvenirs collected from the public under the hammer. Opening bids on many of the items started at zero yuan. (www.hXen.com)

Xiong Yan is the CEO of CBEX.

"Today's auction is different from the previous twenty, which were organized by the organizing committee of the Beijing Olympic Games. All the items under the hammer here have been collected by residents involved in the Beijing Olympics."

The 290 kilogram barbell auctioned was the one that China's Zhang Xiangxiang knelt down and kissed after claiming the weightlifting gold medal in the men's 62-kilogram division.

"This barbell is just like my dear friend and it accompanied me for 18 years. When I finished the last round in the Olympic competition and knew I would stand at the top of the podium, I couldn't help kissing that barbell."

Also up for auction were dozens of commemorative envelopes from the Beijing's Olympic bids, which were all autographed by Juan Antonio Samaranch, a former head of the International Olympic Committee.

The collector of these precious envelopes is a resident from China's Hebei Province.

Fang Hong says over the past 20 years, he sent more than 7,000 letters to Samaranch.

"In 1984, I wrote my first letter to Mr.Samaranch and expressed my wish that the Olympic Games could one day be held in Beijing. Samaranch gave me a reply and sent me a commemorative envelope of the Los Angeles Olympic Games with his signature on it. Samaranch sparked my interest in the Olympics from that time."

The auction was held simultaneously at the Beijing venue and 13 other cities including Shanghai, Tianjin, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Guangzhou and Dalian.

CBEX has auctioned off 700,000 Olympic items during the past year, including a king-size bed used by basketball legend Yao Ming.

XYee, CRI News.