Macao government gives Chen a blessing with a stamp reading, "Wish you realize your ambitious dream and successfully complete the long journey". [Photo/CFP] |
Everywhere he went, he asked local authorities for an official seal to keep as a souvenir. He now has five commemorative books full of these seals. In one of the pages, Macao government gave him a blessing with a stamp reading, "Wish you realize your ambitious dream and successfully complete the long journey".
Chen cycles in front of the Water Cube on July 23, 2008. [Photo/CFP] |
In July 2008, Chen, at the age of 53, arrived in Beijing. He delivered a speech about the Olympics and environmental protection in front of the Bird's Nest, or the National Stadium. During the Games, he voluntarily cleaned rubbish around the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, or the National Aquatics Center.
His Olympic dream does not end in Beijing. In 2012, before the start of London Olympics, Chen appeared on the streets of China Town in London with his old tricycle. A big poster enclosed the vehicle's three sides, which displayed the photos of the places and people that Chen visited on his journey.