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Lu Fei: 2,600 pens later

My name is Lu Fei, I'm 14-years-old.

Hosting the Olympics is one of China's oldest dreams, so from the time we were notified of China's successful bid, all around me I saw adults busying themselves with getting ready for the Games. By the day, my city transformed itself to a more orderly, more beautiful, place. Inspired by this, I decided that I, too, would use my talents to support the Olympics. Taking a long roll of paper as my canvas, I would use my pen to sketch out my heart's image of the Olympics, expressing the excitement brought about by the Olympic spirit. It took two years of creativity to finish drawing on my 50 meter long canvas, but now I have accomplished my Olympic dream.

I began learning how to draw in my first year of elementary school. As a fourth grader, I participated in a contest with an Olympic theme against 450,000 other elementary school students in China. Although I got second place, I thought I could do better, create a better piece of art.

Under the guidance of my art teacher and class monitor, the idea of my "Olympic scroll" blossomed. My mother fully supported me in this endeavor, at every free moment bringing me to visit famous old sites and relics so that I could better understand China's traditional culture. It was my mother that bought me the 50 meter roll of paper. After 4 months of thinking, I started putting my pen to paper at the end of June, 2006.

I used only black ink in my fountain pens, the sole instrument I used to make my sketch. In all, I went through about 2,600 pens. When I first started, I would rush home from school to draw for at least three hours every day. During my summer and winter breaks, I spent all of my free time drawing. I remember starting at 10 in the morning and ending at 3 a.m. the next day. As you can see, completing this scroll took a lot of time away from my studies, but I managed to keep up in school and my grades never dropped.

On my Olympic picture, I have made images representing Olympic themes, such as the idea of a "Green Olympics," and drawn the Imperial Palace, Temple of Heaven, and other ancient sites, as well as Peking University, Tsinghua University and other famous schools. My drawing also has other notable landmarks on it, including towering skyscrapers and traditional Chinese courtyards.

Many of the festive activities Chinese citizens have taken part in to welcome the Olympics are also pictured: little children playing with Fuwa, Olympic qualifying competitions, etc. Of course, the "Bird's Nest" is there, too, as well as representation of the 56 ethnic minorities of China. All this is to show everyone that Beijing will keep to its promise of hosting a "People's Olympics," a "Green Olympics," and a "Hi-tech Olympics."

Besides drawing, I like to participate in volunteer activities. This past Spring Festival, I offered my services to help out with the Olympics, along with about twenty of my schoolmates. I want to welcome the Olympics the best way I can: to offer my help wherever it is needed.