Delegation members of Serbia and volunteers pose for selfies at the Olympic Village for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in Yanqing District of Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 31, 2022. Delegation members and volunteers celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Year of Tiger at the Olympic Village on Monday. Photo:Xinhua

For some foreign athletes, the trip to Beijing for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games has been unforgettable as some special moments underscore not only the sportsmanship, friendship and solidarity, some qualities the world needs the most amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but also how destiny ties people together, especially those who are living thousands of miles away from each other. 

Jamaica's first Olympic alpine skier, Benjamin Alexander, is one of the foreign athletes who made a new Chinese friend in China - a primary school student who lives in Northeast China's Jilin Province - through a painting. Hou Jiaqi, a second-grade student in Changchun, capital city of the province, drew a Winter Olympics-themed picture that was selected as a gift for athletes to the Games. Recently, the Chinese student received a thank-you message from the Jamaican athlete. 

"I thought it was awesome to receive something that was hand drawn to me. That was a lot more important than receiving the Samsung phone or all of the products that everyone else was posting about," Alexander told the Global Times on Saturday. He said the fact that someone had taken the time to create something personal for him was so special.

It's was also surprising for the parents of Hou as the foreign athlete replied to the act of kindness. Young Chinese students across the country have drawn over 43,000 pictures to express the warm greetings and wishes for athletes, and 7,500 of those have been selected as gifts ahead of the opening ceremony of the Games, the Beijing News reported on Saturday. 

"I am the Jamaican skier! Thank you so much for your art, I love it. I hope you get to watch me race next Sunday, February 13, and get to try some skiing yourself one day. Enjoy the Olympics!" said an email sent by Alexander to Hou. The picture the student drew shows four athletes race in a speed skating. 

For the Jamaican athlete, it was also absolutely amazing to communicate with a Chinese child and inspire him to become involved in snow sports. 

There have been many such special and touching interactions between foreign athletes and the Chinese people during the Beijing 2022, leaving unforgettable memories that athletes shared on social media platforms. For example, as Chinese netizens were also amazed by the craze for steamed buns by Jenise Spiteri, the first-ever snowboarder to represent the European island of Malta, Spiteri launched an account on Chinese Twitter-like platform Sina Weibo on Saturday, saying that she is so sad that she is going to leave China soon. 

"We all like you!" "Welcome to China again," some netizens left the message to Spiteri as she posted the first video on Saturday. 

As a bulk of athletes prepare to depart, more foreign athletes expressed their gratitude, some even cried as they recalled their special memories. US snowboarder Tessa Maud recently shared a video on social media saying she is so sad as she was leaving China and she was going to cry on the plane. 

Her videos went viral on Chinese social media after she caught a heartfelt moment at the opening ceremony of the Games showing a Chinese volunteer saying to her "welcome to China" with sweet and kind gesture.

"Thank you China for showing up and putting on a great Olympics for us!" US Olympic skier Aaron Blunck said in a post on Instagram on Saturday. 

"It was a once in a lifetime event. It was absolutely amazing. I will never forget this moment, and it was such an incredible event," Alexander told the Global Times on Saturday.