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Zhang Wanjin: A collection motivated by the Olympic spirit

My name is Zhang Wanjin, I'm 86 years old this year. I worked at the Beijing Physical Culture and Sports Commission until I retired.

I love collecting sports souvenirs, and am known by many as a top Chinese sports souvenir collector.

In order to welcome the Beijing Olympics as it quickly approaches, the management office of Hujialou Street, where I reside, has created a 40 square meter office space for me to showcase my souvenirs. The mini-museum's goal is to have more people understand and absorb the Olympics, and so is free of charge to visitors. In this space, I have on display some valuable trophies, medals, autographs from world champions, flags from various countries, etc. To offer additional support, the management office has published a 125 page full-color photo album commemorating my life's work collecting these sports artifacts.

In the collector's circle, there are those that keep these souvenirs because of a special love and those that are addicted to collecting things. I don't fit into either of these categories, though. I have collected all these souvenirs over the years to fulfill a dream, a hundred year old Olympic dream. I am using these souvenirs to record the most sincere of my emotions!

I remember in 1950 when I not only participated in, but won the first table tennis competition in Beijing. When I was awarded the trophy and flag, I was quite excited, and came up with a great idea. I would use the flag to record the names of all of China's table tennis champions. At present, the flag is decorated with the autographs of over 30 of the nation's greatest table tennis athletes, including Zhuang Zedong, Liang Geliang, Li Furong, Xu Yinsheng, Zhang Xielin, Cai Zhenhua, Qui Zhonghui, Kong Linghui, and Deng Yaping. Under the influence motivated by this flag, I began collecting more and more to preserve sports history.

Since 1950, I have dedicated more than half of my lifetime to collect over 17,000 souvenir articles. Among this collection are the stamps from the first through ninth national sports meetings, souvenir stamps and tickets from the hosts of the 22nd to 27th Olympic Games, over 800 team flags from competitive countries, almost one hundred sporting seals, 2,000 key chains, Olympic stamps, international teams' flags, trophies, medallions, etc.

Behind each one of the souvenirs I've collected is a story. In 1984, on the Olympic stage, China took 15 gold medals for the first time ever. In order to remember this achievement, over 6 years, I collected envelopes that contained these gold medal winning athletes' signatures. At that time, fencing gold medalist Luan Jujie heard about my endeavor, and sent me a specifically autographed letter to add to my collection all the way from Los Angeles. After I received the letter, I was very touched. I told my wife, "Chinese athletes are great, anywhere they go they still remember their home country."

Six years after those historic Games, I was still missing three champions' signatures: Li Yuwei, Wu Xiaoxuan, and Xu Haifeng. These athletes were members of the Chinese shooting team, and as I coveted their signatures, I kept my ears wide open for any information. Then, at even the most minute news that indicated the team was in Beijing, I would drop what I was doing in an instant and hop on my bicycle immediately to pedal to the national team's training center. I can't count how many times I made these trips.

One day in 1990, a friend alerted me to the fact that the shooting team was practicing in Beijing's Fragrant Hills. I skipped breakfast and took off straight for the training venue. That time, I got Li Yuwei's autograph. In the following days, I traveled to Fragrant Hills three more times, finally tracking down Wu Xiaoxuan and Xu Haifeng. My "golden dream" of obtaining all 15 signatures was fulfilled at last.

I love sports, and I love collecting things. In order to develop sports culture and promote the Olympic spirit, since the 1980s, my collection has been displayed in more than 30 Olympic-bidding exhibition tours in universities, enterprises, and communities, drawing attention from hundreds of thousands of people. In 2003, my collection created quite a stir as part of an Olympic exhibition in Sydney,

Under the support of the street's management office, my collection has been on display for almost a year. Everyday, enthusiasts show up to absorb the artifacts, taking pictures of my souvenirs to create a souvenir of their own. It always makes me happy to receive these guests, fans of sports and of the Olympics. I believe that the construction of the exhibition space and the publishing of the picture album will spread knowledge about the Olympics and attract more people here to feel and participate in the Games.