Dou Li, a security volunteer at the Olympic Village, worked long hours and often missed precious sleep. She nevertheless always flashed a beautiful smile, even after a long night shift. "That's because a smile is the common language of the world," explains Dou. "The volunteers' smiles are the best name cards of Beijing."

Dou was one of 80 Olym-pic volunteers selected from Shanxi province. She graduated this summer from Shanxi Finance and Economics University with a master's degree.

Her journey to the Olympics started seven years ago.

"For Chinese people, it has been a dream for one hundred years to host the Olympic Games. It has also been my dream to participate in the Olympics. I am not an athlete or an official. So the only way for me to participate is as a volunteer. The moment when Beijing succeeded in its bid for the Olympics in 2001, I had the wish and plan to be a volunteer at the Beijing Olympics."

Starting in January 2007, thousands of people applied for 100 positions open to residents of Shanxi province (80 Olympics volunteers and 20 Paralympics volunteers). The selection process was extremely rigorous. Dou was first recommended by her university. Subsequently, she had to pass a written exam, interviews, foreign language tests and assessments of her overall aptitudes. She was extremely happy when she at last received the letter of acceptance from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.

Being a volunteer has meant a great personal sacrifice. Once she was accepted, Dou resigned from her corporate accounting job without hesitation, as this allowed her to devote herself to the volunteer work.

"Many people asked me, 'Is it worth it? Volunteers don't get paid.' I just realized that I had never thought about whether it would be worthwhile or not. The only thing on my mind was: I will feel fulfilled as long as I get this opportunity to contribute to the country and the society."

Yet her daily work in the Olympic Village was not always as glamorous as people might imagine. During the Olympics, she was not able to watch a single match in its entirety. Although she encountered world-class athletes every day, she had to contain her excitement and not request autographs or pictures. "Most volunteers perform trivial and repetitive tasks," she says. "It can be tedious after a while. But I am fully aware that all such small things count towards the success of the Beijing Olympics".

"Through this experience I gained friendships with people around the world," she says. "It was eye opening and let me witness a historical moment."