Ecuadorian newspaper, El Comercio, said Wednesday that numerous young Chinese volunteers serving the ongoing Beijing Olympics have formed an impressive scene in the city, and are presenting China's new image to the world.
Some 100,000 volunteers in blue T-shirts are working at every corner of Beijing. Some are helping with security check at sports venues, others are directing passengers at subway stations, still others are offering language service to foreign tourists, the newspaper said in an article.
These volunteers, mostly college students at their 20s, seem energetic and capable of everything. With friendly smiles forever on their faces, they offer every possible service to foreign athletes and visitors.
The world is impressed by the host country's strong momentum in collecting gold medals, its magnificent sports venues and wide use of hi-tech, but undoubtedly the young volunteers have left the world people an equally fond memory. They are the best image ambassadors for a rapidly rising China, said the paper.
A female Olympic volunteer, who is a student from China Foreign Affairs University, said during a brief interview by the paper that she is proud of being able to do her share for her country though her daily workload of 10 hours is hard indeed, but she will always treasure that unique experience in her life.
(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2008)