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Li Zhaoxian: Greeting the Olympics with 2,008 hand-made cloth dolls

My name is Li Zhaoxian. I am 73 years old, and have retired from work with the Mentougou Highway Maintenance Bureau.

I spent five years making a total of 2,008 cloth dolls to express my best wishes for the Beijing Olympic Games. I didn't stop my work, even when I was diagnosed with lymphoma, lymph node cancer.

The idea of making the crafts originated from a visit to Tanzhesi Temple where I saw a toy featuring seven children holding a round ball of cloth. I bought and took it home, then, I made a copy of it. I knew that I was capable of doing a better one with Olympic themes. Through repeated trials, I designed and created a round block of bulked cotton, with five kids, hand in hand, holding the block from different angles. On the bottom of the craft, I stitched strips of greetings and blessings for the Olympics.

My decision to make the crafts came from Samaranch's announcement that Beijing won the honor of hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. I wanted to make my dolls with satin and silk in festive colors -- red, orange and green. When my friends and relatives heard that I needed 100 meters of material to make 2,008 crafts, they supported me by giving me all their odd bits of cloth.

I worked day and night to finish them before the Olympics, but in early 2004, I was diagnosed with lymphoma and had to be hospitalized for a year. I abided by the doctor's advice to rest, but begged for a few minutes to continue making my crafts every day. Finally, in July 2006, two years ahead of the Olympics, I completed my work.

Today, I have given all of these dolls to BOCOG and began to stitch more dolls with the theme of Olympic mascots. I want to give them to athletes and visitors from around the world that come to Beijing to attend the Olympic Games.