Glitter in the light of youth

Xiao Yang (middle) interviewing some spectators of the championship held in Suzhou [Photo/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"Sometimes the camera and tripod are really heavy, and that's when we wish there was a boy helping us," said Xu Shanshan, one of main photographers. "The most difficult part is to get news items from volunteers’ daily work, as they’re scattered around the expo center and we don’t have access to every venue," added Xiao Yang.

For Xu Yan things might be easier. "I've been working with the committee since Oct 2014, mainly on updating the official Weibo account and the website. And it's really inspiring to see the website growing from scratch to today's informative product with plentiful content."

Different from other fixed-position volunteers, their work has more flexibility and resilience, collecting materials, photos and footages from other volunteers. But there's also some unshareable fun.

Xu Yan, Xu Shanshan and Zhu Mingxia (from L to R) are discussing and editing their work contents. [Photo/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"Currently we take photos of every volunteer and try to make a photo album of their faces to memorize these days," said Xu Shanshan. "Especially for those working at the backstage and barely meeting a person every day," added Xu Yan in a tribute to them. "This is also to acknowledge their hard work," Said Ji Peng, the tech master in the team, sharing his view.

With days gone by, it seems countdown for dropping the curtains is approaching. "It just feels like going through another college entrance examination, which we spent days preparing and in a flash, it ended." Said Xu Yan.

Zhu Mingxia, the only one from Suzhou in the team, shared the same feeling. "As a Suzhou local, I'm more than proud that such an event can take place in my city, and I'm also so reluctant to let it go.”

"I'm now writing manuscripts every day to collect every piece of my work now, for later recollection and rediscovering," Xu Yan added to describe her way of going about it.

So what will these days mean for them? Apparently sense of loss and parting, as they're to head different ways in their lives. But surely, this will be a precious experience for their devotion to and interest in such reporting work, and add to their attachment to the city of Suzhou.