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A Farmer's Olympic Life

Former farmer Na Heli says his life is deeply intertwined with the Beijing Olympic Games: he is working at the National Stadium construction site where his home used to be.

His family, including his late father Na Zhong, an Athens Olympics torchbearer, saw the disappearance of Wali Village in northern Beijing, where the Na family had been living for 17 generations, and the emergence of a state-of-art sport complex consisting of the well-know National Stadium (Bird's Nest) as well as the National Aquatics Center or (Watercube).

"The Bird's Nest sits right where my home was. I often picture in my mind the four trees in the courtyard and three rows of houses," said the 44-year-old, who used to be a village official and who works for a service company at the construction site.

"I'm both sad and happy. On the day we moved, I told them, 'Please don't demolish our houses until we are out of sight,' " he said. His family left Wali in September 2002, along with 3,000 households that were relocated with them in this Fourth Ring Road area.

Today, his former home is part of the 1,215-hectare Olympic Park which will be the centre stage of the Beijing Games. His family and his fellow villagers have become urban residents.

"My life has changed a lot because of the Olympic Games, but I am proud of my experience, because my family has a special link with the Games," he said. "The Olympic Games looked so beyond my reach before, but now it is right beside me."

Na was elected a village official on July 13, 2001, when Beijing was awarded the right to host the Games, before his village was chosen as an Olympic site. His father, Na Zhong, a former village chief, expressed the family's support for the Games by taking the initiative to move.

The then 71-year-old Na Zhong rented a house further north while Heli chose to purchase an apartment close to his three other siblings. Many of his neighbours scattered all over Beijing.

Na Zhong visited the construction site daily by bus from more than 20 kilometres away, just to keep up with the Bird's Nest's progress.

"Sometimes my father would come to my home and speak joyfully about the progress of the Bird's Nest," said Na. "He really looked forward to the Games. He always said he wanted to live to see the day when the Games opened." But the elder Na gave more than his land to the Games.

On June 9, 2004, the elder Na held the flame of the Athens Olympic Games high as he ran 400 metres in Beijing as the oldest torch bearer of those Games: he died four months later.

"The Olympic Games will always be part of my life," the younger Na said.

His company provides services such as catering, recreation and medical care for more than 10,000 workers at the Bird's Nest construction site. His nephew, Na Nan, also works in the site and is in charge of security.

"When the Games close, my company will continue to provide services for this complex. I will never leave the Olympics," he said.

"What I am doing now is so different from what I did as a village official. For the past few years, my life has totally changed. I think the change is for the better."