Peking University, February 17, 2022: On the 4th of February 2022, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics’ Opening Ceremony was held at China’s National Stadium. On invitation, 30 Peking University (PKU) international students representing 26 different countries watched the Opening Ceremony on site.

Many international students of PKU would have tuned in to the 2008 Beijing Olympics back then. 14 years later, watching the Olympics in person brings back a sense of déjà vu and has solidified their connection with the world’s first Dual Olympic City.

Interviewees:



To Beijing

Right before the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nikita left Russia for China. Before this, China was merely a country at the other end of the horizon for him, familiar yet unknown. The Opening Ceremony left a deep impression of China on him. Nikita’s desire to learn Chinese was ignited when he saw 800 performers forming different Chinese characters for a performance during the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
 

In fact, Nikita’s desire to learn Chinese did not start at the Olympics but began from his journeys in the alleys of Beijing and fields of Northern China. In 2015, he applied to do his masters at PKU, and translated many books during that time. In 2021, he chose to return to PKU to do his PhD withr the School of Chinese as a Second Language.

Sarah had just turned nine during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She watched the Opening Ceremony on television, which inspired her to better understand China. In 2017, she went to New York University Shanghai for a China-related degree. In her free time, she would immerse herself in Chinese culture – from the Great Wall of China to Xi’an’s historical sights, she has seen them all in person. In her graduation thesis, she worked on the topic of Chinese seal engraving, partially inspired by the logo of the 2008 Beijing Olympics she saw as a child. This time round, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics features pictograms that are inspired by Chinese calligraphy and seal carving. Armed with her knowledge of Chinese culture, the art of seal engraving was no longer a distant oriental art form, but a familiar research topic for her.
 

Through Our Eyes: the Opening Ceremony

For Sarah, the Opening Ceremony was a perfect chance for her to learn about Chinese culture. The Ceremony combined many aspects of Chinese culture but the countdown made an especially deep impression. It drew inspiration from the 24 solar terms, which she was first exposed to at a museum in Xi’an. With an understanding of the underlying cultural meaning behind the solar terms, she could better grasp the Chinese concept of the unity of heaven and man.
 

Of course, the Opening Ceremony did not only contain cultural symbols but also highlighted the Olympic spirit. In the performance titled ‘Forming a Snowflake’, Sarah watched as the lights dimmed and children holding doves ran in the stadium. She was touched by the theme of unity, as reinforced by the dim lights, the uniform costumes the performers wore and the synchronised movements of the performers. It seemed that the Opening Ceremony embodied the idea that “unity is strength”, which itself reflects the Olympic Games.

Nikita thought of the Opening Ceremony from a different perspective. He watched the ceremony with the Covid-19 pandemic in mind, saying that “if the fight against the pandemic was a race, China would win first place.” The strict measures helped ensure order, and he believed that unity would aid the world in declaring victory over the pandemic. He praised the Sino-Russian collaboration during the pandemic, providing each other with medical resources when needed. As the five Olympic Rings broke the ice during the Opening Ceremony, there was hope that the world would break down barriers in pursuit of unity.

Having been a translator of many books, Nikita’s understanding of China’s revolutionary history made him better appreciate the Winter Olympics’ theme of the “people”. For him, the idea of the people and the citizenry was not just an abstract one, but a cumulation of different stories from many ordinary folks. The show ‘Tribute to the People’ saluted these unsung heroes from all walks of life. Nikita believes “the Olympics is a sporting event that unites people from different countries and different races. Through the sporting events, we learn of each other’s cultures and progress together, to become faster, higher, stronger together.”
 

Together for a shared future

The end of the Opening Ceremony also marked a new beginning.

For Sarah, whose first trip to China gave her the opportunity to witness this sporting event, she saw the different dimensions of China, and learnt to appreciate Chinese culture on a deeper level. In PKU, she was able to take modules on history, archaeology, arts, philosophy freely, and learn from renowned professors. Sarah hopes that one day, she can tell the world about the beauty of China, so that more people are able to understand and appreciate it.

For Nikita, he will continue studying China’s history, a story of its people. He intends to systematically study the Chinese Communist Party’s history in his PhD, and hopes for more opportunities to translate books by Chinese pioneers. During the Opening Ceremony, Nikita felt extremely honored to see Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in person. He spoke of his dream of translating President Xi’s books into Russian, and his strong belief that under China’s vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, the world will be able to progress together- together for a shared future.


Written by: Glenda Ho
Edited by: Ng Joong Hwee, Hu Shaocong
Source: International Students Division, PKU