Video voices: One in a billion

This 23-year-old joined China’s ruling communist party to secure a bright future for himself and to serve his country.
 
He says young people are flocking to join the political machine that puts members on the fast-track to success.
 
He tells Al Jazeera his story.

This boy is reaping the fruits of China’s economic boom.
 
He is living the kind of life that few Chinese children may ever experience.
 
This is his story.

This Chinese man was captured by Nationalists forces and forced to fight the Communists nearly 50 years ago.
 
He hopes the Olympic games will further improve already thawing ties between the two long-time rivals.
 
He tells his story.

This 59-year-old woman loves group dancing for its physical and social benefits.
 
She joins dozens of senior citizens who converge at Beijing’s open spaces to dance the summer away.
 
This is her story.

A generation of Chinese remember his song Nothing to My Name as the unofficial anthem of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
 
The godfather of Chinese rock music says he backs the Olympics while remaining true to the spirit of rock-and-roll.
 
He tells his story.

The China correspondent for Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper was arrested and charged in 2005 with spying for Taiwan.
 
He spent more than 1,000 days in prison before being released early in February.
 
This is his story.

Hu trained hard since young to be an opera performer, even risking serious injury, just to keep an ancient tradition alive.
 
He believes the Chinese government was wrong to carry out the Cultural Revolution which destroyed many art forms.
 
He tells his story.

This photography enthusiast shows his support for the Olympics by doing what he does best at the Bird’s Nest.

He has captured close to 10,000 images of its construction over a period of six years.

This is his story. 

A member of the Zhang clan shares her family’s experience of living in one of Beijing’s old courtyard houses for generations.

She talks about playing host to foreigners who will be touring their hutong.

This is her story.

This eight-year-old girl has achieved fame for her obsession with the cuddly Fuwa, the five colourful creatures adopted as mascots for the Beijing Olympics.

She tells her story.

He headed the team that conceptualised the ‘Cloud of Promise’ combining both Chinese culture and the Olympic spirit.

The chief designer feels an emotional connection with the torch that reflects his relationship with his son.

He tells his story.