The Water Cube

The national aquatics center, known as the Water Cube, is the place where Cao Feng will begin the most memorable chapter of his life.

And being a part of the Olympics is no easy task. First of all you have to survive the mass selection process. Beijing's Game-time volunteer recruiting programme started in August 2006. By mid-February 2008, there were nearly one million applicants from the Chinese capital alone. But only 70 thousand were selected for the two-and-a-half-week-long sporting event, including all those from the mainland and overseas. So competition was fierce, and all-around ability was crucial.

Cao Feng said, "We need to know a lot of things about the Beijing Olympics and about China itself. Because, one of the main themes of the Beijing Olympics is that we have to promote China's culture to the outside world. You have to learn about Beijing's culture, and about the Chinese culture, if you want to be a volunteer."

Charged with being the cornerstone of the modern Olympic movement, and the image of the Olympic Games, volunteers have to provide a high level of service. With an ever-present smile, they're involved in many different matters, such as information, translation, transport, security, and any call for help.

Very often, they'll have to work both day and night, rising as early as 4 am and going home late.

Cao Feng said, "The whole process will be very tiring and exhausting. But I have to say, deep down, although we'll be tired physically, mentally we're all excited We're very happy, because all of us know that we're working for something big, and we really are a part of it."