Olympic Faces

Whether they're branding their faces with Olympic tattoos or obsessively photographing the Bird's Nest, these characters make Beijing a little more colorful

Olympic bike-maker Meng Jie

I first had the idea to make an Olympic bike back in 1992 when China was bidding for the 2000 Games. I wanted to create the perfect object to symbolise China’s participation and hope for the future. I left my job as a mechanic to work for a sports manufacturing company in the hope that they would help me fine-tune the mechanics of the bike.

I didn’t just want the bike to look cool: I wanted the design to be unique too. I spent a long time inventing a mechanism that would enable me to ride using my hands and legs at the same time. This means I can ride at a maximum speed of 150km per hour on flat stretches. It’s not very practical for riding through traffic so I can also switch to normal pedalling when I need to.

I have made some rough designs for a bike for the London Olympics in 2012 and my dream is to build that next and ride it around Britain.

Bird’s Nest fanatic He Linyuan

I’ve been obsessed by the Bird’s Nest stadium ever since I first heard about plans for its construction. I’m lucky because my office is less than 60 metres from the site so I have been able to watch the process unfold. Most Chinese people will never get to enjoy it up close, so I decided to document the whole thing from beginning to end, making an archive for future generations.

So far I’ve taken over 8,000 photographs and plan to keep taking them even after the Games are finished. Sometimes I get bored of constantly photographing one subject; but as soon as I focus on the amazing details of the structure and the grace and beauty of how every section works together, I am encouraged to go on. One of my favourite pictures, a view through the beams of the stadium glowing in sunlight, took from sunrise until lunchtime to get the perfect shot.

Bilingual policeman Liu Wenli

I have never travelled far out of Beijing, but it is my dream to speak as many languages as possible so I can communicate with foreigners who visit our city. It started when I was a young policeman and some foreigners asked me directions. I felt frustrated because I couldn’t give them an answer, so I decided to do my best to master English. I was the first policeman to receive the Advanced-Level Oral English Certificate, and was selected to carry a torch for the China leg of the 2004 Olympics.

I decided to improve my English even more, so I bought books, tapes and films in English, and spent all my spare time learning new words. I visited the English corner at Renmin University every Friday – people were surprised to see a policeman in uniform but they soon got used to it, and my English just got better and better.

I patrol the Wanchun Pavilion in Jingshan Park, where I meet lots of foreigners to practice English and other languages with. If I don’t know a person’s language, I ask them to teach me. I can now introduce myself and say hello in thirteen languages, as well as impersonate many accents, like French or New York accents.

Tattoed patriot Liu Ming

I’ve been friends with the people who run a tattoo parlour here for a while, and one day I told them I wanted to get ‘Beijing 2008’ inked on my forehead. They asked me if I was sure, but didn’t really question why I wanted it.

For me, it wasn’t a hard decision to make. I’m a shy person and I can’t express my love of this country properly in words; this tattoo was a way to show it. It doesn’t bother me that the government has banned people with tattoos from being part of the Olympic opening ceremony – I wouldn’t have done it anyway. Now people often come up to me and ask about it. They never say bad things – at least not to my face.