北京奥运会志愿者前往伦敦

The ten-member volunteer group will participate in an Olympic torch relay in Hammersmith and Fulham on July 26th and a men's road cycling race on July 28th in London's Bishop Park.

Xia Huanhuan, who is in her first year of postgraduate studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, is one of the youngest members of the volunteer group. She believes her participation in the upcoming London Olympics will offer her another exciting experience.

"Now four years have passed, and London is around the corner. I appreciate this kind of connection between Beijing and London. That's something I've found very interesting about life."

In 2008, Xia Huanhuan worked in the main press center at the Beijing Olympic Games, handling all kinds of translations for journalists and photographers. She said she is confident she will do a good job in London after having undertaken adequate preparation.

"I think I'm prepared. So what I've done is research as much as possible about the London Games, about the community service center and about what our delegation is about to do, as well as what kind of problems we will encounter."

The Beijing Volunteer Service Center, which works in cooperation with the British Olympic Committee, is in charge of selecting volunteers for the upcoming London Games.

According to Zhang Nan, the center's deputy director, a book recording the experiences of the volunteers during the 2008 Beijing Olympics has already been published in London. Zhang says the volunteer group's London trip has another goal.

"Our London trip is actually one of our cooperation activities with the Olympic Committee of the UK this year. During the break, we will share experiences and exchange ideas with VE, a UK volunteer service organization that is in charge of all the volunteers who will work at the upcoming London Olympics, by holding forums."

Hao Yihua, a manager of a cultural communication company in Beijing and a member of the team of Chinese volunteers, says she looks forward to sharing her experiences with other international volunteers.

"At the Olympics, I will be the photographer and video recorder. So I am so looking forward to working with other volunteers from different nations to serve the Games, and hence, build friendships."

Meanwhile, Zhang Nan also says the two major conditions for the selection of Olympic volunteers are rich volunteer experiences and English language skills. He also says those who served as volunteers for the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games and National Day celebrations or participated in disaster relief work were given priority consideration.

Li Jv, who comes from Beichuan, one of the areas of Sichuan Province devastated by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, was highly eligible for being selected as a London Olympics volunteer because she had worked at the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Recalling the tragedy of having lost 16 of her family members, including her mother and grandfather, in the earthquake in 2008, Li says her Beijing Olympics volunteer experiences that same year helped her overcome her grief.

"The Olympic Games had a highly positive impact on my family and my own life. By participating in such a grand event, my focus on the tragedy I suffered had been successfully diverted. Meanwhile, it encouraged me to look ahead."

More than 100,000 volunteers worked at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Previous reports in the Telegraph say London Olympics organizers are looking to recruit 70,000 volunteers to whom they refer as "Games Makers." Interested persons must commit to volunteering a minimum of 10 days at the Olympics, Paralympics or both.

For CRI, I'm Xu Fei.