CHINA:ONE OF China's most mysterious and potent symbols is the Forbidden City, the collection of buildings at the heart of Beijing which includes the Imperial Palace, once official preserve of emperors, concubines and eunuchs and now a national monument visited by millions from all over China and the world.
One of the true Wonders of the World, the Forbidden City has been spruced up for the Olympic Games, and volunteers stand ready to show you around in whatever language you choose, including Niall Lawless from Warrenpoint in Co Down.
It's only a few years since the dulcet tones of former James Bond star Roger Moore guided you through the network of palaces and temples on headsets you would rent at the entrance. Roger is gone, but he has been replaced by an altogether more sophisticated crew of interpretative experts.
"I'm very proud to be a volunteer, it's really a privilege. You get incredible access to great knowledge, and I'm really interested in China's history.
There is a lot more to Chinese history than meets the eye," said the chartered arbitrator and engineer, who first read about the call for Olympic volunteers in the government's English-language newspaper, the China Daily and applied for the job.
To get into the Forbidden City you have to pass beneath an enormous portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong, gazing out on Tiananmen Square. But the Imperial Palace retains a lot of the emperors' imprints left over the centuries.
Lawless is currently a part-time PhD candidate at the University of International Business and Economics and he is to be found at a red lacquer desk outside Taihe Men (Gate of Supreme Harmony) eight hours per week.
He had visited the Forbidden City three times as a tourist and was impressed with the architecture as well as the place itself, and reckoned that working as a volunteer was a chance to avail of first-class knowledge and training.
About 20 people did the training and 14 were finally put through lectures, internships and examinations.
Lawless is the only Irish person on the programme, doing 60 hours work over a two-month period.
"What I find is that westerners are sometimes reluctant to talk to Chinese people, while Chinese people are fascinated to see westerners."
The Forbidden City receives about 10 million visitors annually, around a quarter of them from abroad.
His job is introducing foreigners to the Forbidden City and answering any questions they may have, from detailed histories of its eerie precincts to telling them where to buy batteries for their cameras.
"I want to spend half my life in China and half my life in Europe now. I'm not just here for the Olympics. This is a virtuous circle," he says.