Li Pan, 14, smiled looking at the city of Beijing from his hotel room on Wednesday. It may be the most exciting moment for the little boy with hearing handicap after the deadly Wenchuan earthquake.
Little ambassadors for China's 56 nationalities arrive in Beijing June 18, 2008. These boys and girls will enjoy the promising improvement brought by the upcoming Olympics during the five-day event.
As one of the 56 little ambassadors for China's 56 nationalities, Li represents the Qiang minority. These 56 children, most of them are the disabled, are joining in the "Olympic Tour" to taste the promising improvement brought by the upcoming Olympics in August.
"I'm not the first choice," said Li, "Zhang Huan was supposed to be the ambassador. But she has not been found yet after the earthquake. It should have been her standing here now in Beijing."
Li's house and school were destroyed in the earthquake. After 10-hour walking, his family stay in a relative's house in Deyang, Sichuan Province in Southwestern China. The boy, to become a junior high school student in September, is wondering about his career after the earthquake.
"I want to go to college in Beijing," said Li, "I want to help rebuild my hometown after graduation."
The five-day event, as the "Olympic Tour", started on Wednesday, the 80 days counting-down to the opening of the Beijing Paralympics. These children will go to the "Bird's Nest", the Water Cube and the Great Wall. They will also have chance to make a close contact with the Olympic torch.
"We plan to give every child the dream of Olympics ," said Wang Tao, a director of China's Disabled Persons Federation, "We want to tell them something. Something we found in the Olympics and the Paralympics, that is the Olympic Spirit and 'One World, One Dream'."
"We want to try our best to help every child," said Wang, "Then those children with hearing handicap will have the chance to hear the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics."
Gilijiamali from Xinjiang, handicapped in legs, insisted on dancing to express her excitement.
"It is my first time to have a flight on a plane and also my first time to go to Beijing," said Gulijiamali, "In my hometown, everyone can sing if she can speak and everyone can dance if she can walk. I can walk myself and I will dance for this big family."
(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2008)