The deep blue screen spread out into the distance, and in the center of the "Bird's Nest" of the National Stadium, a bright five-star red flag slowly unfolded in the hands of 12 children and teenagers, and then was steadily escorted forward.
This is the national flag entry link for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics on the evening of February 4, 2022. Rao Qingzhi from Wulutong Primary School in Xicheng District, Beijing, is in this national flag escort team that represents the future of the motherland. At the age of 8, her waist bar is straight between the marches. The trumpet "My Motherland and Me" sounded, and the five-star red flag was passed down in people's hands, like a small boat supported by a wave of water, smoothly arriving at the shore.
Rao Qingzhi (third from left in the back row of the picture) participated in the performance of the national flag entrance link of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games. Courtesy of respondents
"Ladies and gentlemen, please stand up, raise the national flag of the People's Republic of China, and sing the national anthem of the People's Republic of China." Looking at the national flag raised, Rao Qingzhi and her classmates saluted the Young Pioneers. "I feel like the 'Bird's Nest' is a very sacred place, and we raised the flag in a very sacred place," she said. ”
"Stand very straight"
In preparation for the Winter Olympics, Rao Qingzhi and 11 other children's representatives have been rehearsing for two months since December last year.
At the beginning, the school was not yet closed, and the students took advantage of the rehearsal every weekend. The first is the standing exercise, "Stand for about 10 minutes, stand very straight." "The next step is to practice the pace, the pace should be moderate, and the formation should be made neat. At first, when rehearsing, there will be a prompt for the location on the ground screen, and each person must remember their own point. The 12 men were divided into two rows, and from the side, "it was as if there were only 6 people." ”
Sometimes, there are also small mistakes in rehearsals. Some students were rehearsing, the headset fell into the rolled up flag, and suddenly they could not hear the director's instructions, and everyone was very anxious. "Later, it was changed to volunteer brothers and sisters taking the lead and giving us instructions." Many details are also adjusted repeatedly through rehearsals, such as the spacing of the students' standing positions.
Rao Qingzhi. Courtesy of respondents
It's late winter in Beijing in December, and rehearsing in the open-air arena of the Bird's Nest is also a challenge. Once it snowed, cold snow particles slid into Rao Qingzhi's eyes, but she insisted on standing still.
After the winter vacation, Rao Qingzhi and her classmates began to rehearse every day. From January 28, they were each accompanied by a parent to enter the "closed loop management", and the other young actors at the opening ceremony also stayed in these hotels.
After rehearsals, Rao Qingzhi and other children became friends and used phone watches to "add friends" to each other. We were always doing our homework, chatting, and playing games together in the lounge. Sometimes in joint rehearsals, fireworks are set off on the spot, and they look up at the fireworks and imagine what the Winter Olympics will look like.
Chinese New Year's Eve evening, the director team gave the children snacks such as melon seeds, peanuts, and wangwang gift bags, and everyone huddled together to watch the Spring Festival Gala, laughing and dancing. "Rolling all over the floor with snacks until 1 a.m., it's very lively." Rao Qingzhi's mother, Ms. Zhao, said.
"We raised the flag in a very sacred place"
At 8 p.m. on February 4, the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics officially began. At the entrance of the national flag, taller children held the flag on their chests, and shorter ones held the flag on their shoulders, as they did in every serious rehearsal, they held the flag steadily and solemnly handed it over to more than 100 "brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts".
"Not nervous at all." Rao Qingzhi said that during the journey, she accidentally did not take a steady step, but her reaction was to take a step forward quickly and "remedy" her return.
After the opening ceremony performance, director Zhang Yimou took a group photo with the children participating in the performance. Courtesy of respondents
At home, Rao Qingzhi's parents, grandparents and grandparents have been in front of the TV set for a long time. Previously, they learned that their children had the opportunity to participate in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, although they were surprised and happy, they did not know what the specific link of the children's participation was.
Because the performance is to be kept secret, Rao Qingzhi is also "tight-lipped" to her parents, mentioning the Winter Olympics, but if she says a few more words, she will have a serious face: "Confidentiality!" It wasn't until the opening ceremony that the family saw the child's performance completely on TV for the first time.
Rao Qingzhi's mother, Ms. Zhao, recalled with a smile: "Grandparents are more excited than us. My relatives spent the night sending me pictures of the TV from various angles. Everyone is proud that children can participate in such an international event. ”
"We have all participated in the flag-raising ceremony, but I think the 'Bird's Nest' is a very sacred place. Little by little, the national flag was passed from our hands to the hands of brothers and sisters of 56 nationalities, uncles and aunts from all walks of life, and we raised the national flag in a very sacred place. Rao Qingzhi said.
When I returned home from the performance, it was already more than 1 a.m. on the 5th. Ms. Zhao said to her daughter: "From the camera, you stand really straight. The daughter replied, "Yes, I sing the national anthem very loudly!"
"Although she will shout tired during rehearsals, she actually feels particularly proud and honored." Ms. Zhao said.
Source: Xianning News Network