The ongoing 2014 FIFA World Cup has sparked the passion of Beijing people again, at an extent that it never had despite the failure of their national team to be qualified. Soccer has undoubtedly become the top concern across the city, no matter you are in the bars, cafes, restaurants or offices.

A growing number of people choose to watch live games via TV or Internet, regardless of how late it is at night and even making "Stay up" a buzzword all over the streets. What's more, a batch of female audience, many of whom claim themselves as "pseudo fans," also emerged as a major group joining in the World Cup craze in Beijing.

To further fuel the craze, all kinds of soccer-related promotion campaigns have dominated the city. Restaurants are always a main player during such events, but many interesting campaigns have also appeared as compared to the four years ago. For instance, Quanjude, a relatively higher-end traditional Chinese restaurant, is spending all-out efforts in providing soccer-themed dishes to attract increasing potential customers.

As bars remain an indispensable choice for World Cup fans, many shopping malls are trying every means in a bid to grab a piece of cake during this event. This is the case with Guomao Mall, which is now organizing a mini World Cup at its mini indoor playground to satisfy the needs of those eager to have a real game like stars.

Perhaps the most creative action is renaming 32 stations of subway line 4 after the 32 competing national teams. Though it just lasted for two days due to the fear of making commuters losing their way, there are still some public-service ads aiming at introducing Brazilian soccer culture through the perspectives of nine common Brazilians living in Beijing.

To better show you the heated atmosphere in Beijing, an infographic showing the "Beijing Map for Celebrating World Cup" is attached in the following. In this infographic, the top 10 recommended places for celebrating World Cup are especially highlighted in the left side to show you more details.

However, you may start wondering about the voices of real Beijing World Cup fans now. Here we share three Beijing World Cup fans' stories with a significant photo showing their connections with World Cup.

World Cup in my heart: an unforgettable souvenir 

The photo shows Hsienlai Deng holding the World Cup souvenir dating back to 2010 when he was an exchange student in Russia. "I watched the game with foreign friends on a grassland near the Lake Seliger, Tverskaya Oblast in middle Russia. It was a souvenir given out by the McDonalds. Bottom of the souvenir, the engraved numbers 1978 and 1986 represent the championship of Argentina."

The statue is a FIFA World Cup on the land of Argentina, different people carrying the cup. But in that competition, Argentina was defeated by Germany.

Starting watching World Cup at the age of eight under the influence of his soccer fan father, Deng says he is strongly affected by the spirit of sports in Beijing.

World Cup in my heart: soccer ball video games

The Photo shows Pei Xinyan dressed in his FIFA World Cup T-shirt and FC Bayern Scarf. Fond of watching soccer games since his middle school years, Pei says the World Cup has marked different stages of his school life. However, Pei doesn't play soccer ball. It is the virtual soccer ball video games on the computer that make him become a big fan for World Cup.

Pei started playing the PES (a virtual soccer ball video game) in the year of 2003, and has since become a skilled player. "During the World Cup, I would play as the exact combating teams before the real game to predict the results," says Pei. "This can really add to my watching experience."

World Cup in my heart: precious soccer ball and memory

The photo shows He Yukun holding the Soccer Ball he has been playing with for many years. To this soccer ball fan, World Cup means a precious memory connected with his youth.

In late 70s, the television is not yet popular in China. He Yukun, together with his colleagues in Shijingshan Power Plant, used to cram into the 50-square-meter room, and wait to watch soccer ball matches in front of a wooden cabinet where a small black-and-white TV stood.

"I lived in my workplace from the age 18 years old to 28 years old. It's the best time in my memory," He Yukun recalls. "My colleagues and I are crazy about the soccer ball games. We used to play on the bare land after work until the light failed."

The 1982 World Cup impressed He Yukun the most. In Spain, Italy met West Germany in the final. His favorite team Italy won the world champion for the third time till then. He Yukun thought highly of Italy because it's a team with both technical skills and strategic tactics.

Another reason why 1982 was memorable is China's national team let slip a golden opportunity in the qualifying competition to reach the final.

"There were lots of great players in China national team at that time. Rong Zhihang, Chi Shangbin and Gu Guangming are all heroes," says He. "If they had qualified for the 1982 World Cup, we would see a great leap in China's overall capability today."

In his early age, He's family was not rich enough to buy his a soccer ball or a ticket of game shows. However, his enthusiasm for soccer ball and other sports has never been stopped.

The authors are postgraduate students from the School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University.

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