"I can tell the story behind every single thing I own," he told China Daily. "I'm pretty much an expert on China's Olympic history now."

Over the last 23 years, the 42-year-old Beijinger has gathered everything he could find related to China's Olympic involvement.

His 10,000-plus treasures include 10,000 items like stamps, postcards, photos, clippings and souvenirs.

To help promote Olympic education among young Chinese, the Sinopec lab worker made 29 billboards from his collections and toured school campuses in the capital.

"My collection is a vivid Olympic history book," he said.

"Many people love my exhibitions because these items are very close to their daily life. Everyone can do it if they have the interest and perseverance."

Tu started stamp collecting in 1980 when this pastime was popular among city dwellers in the wake of the "cultural revolution" (1966 - 76).

He had no particular interest in the subject until 1984 when he attended China's first sports stamps exhibition and bought a set of postcards featuring Chinese Olympic champions.

In that year, China sent its first large delegation of 250 athletes to the Los Angeles Games after it restored its lawful seat at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Chinese Olympians won 15 gold medals at the event, with sharpshooter Xu Haifeng taking China's first gold. To celebrate the achievement, China launched a set of 15 Olympic postcards.

"I was so proud of our Olympians and really wanted to get their autographs," he recalled.

He sent the postcards to the Chinese Olympic champions through China's General Administration of Sports and, to his surprise, received signed postcards from all of them within four months.

"The first I got was from weightlifting champion Wu Shude," he said. "I couldn't believe my eyes."

What impressed Tu the most was the reply from China's women's volleyball team captain Lang Ping. She also invited her teammates, coaches and doctors to sign Tu's postcard.

Encouraged by this experience, Tu narrowed his focus to China at the Olympics.

The price of passion

In the early 1980s, Tu earned only 18 yuan ($2.5) a month and he spent most of this on stamps.

His hunting grounds are not limited to local stamp markets. Tu also buys stamps through overseas friends and at international auctions.

In order to get his collection right, Tu spent much of his savings on sports books and albums.

His passion for China's Olympic movement gained him a reputation among stamp traders.

"They call me the Olympic stamp guy and now many of them will save the good stuff for me," he said.

One of his most memorable experiences relates to Chinese sprinter Liu Changchun (1909 - 83), the first Chinese Olympian and a pioneer of China's sports who took part in the 1932 and 1936 Olympic Games.

What Tu was looking for was Liu's stamp with a postmark of the opening day of the 1932 Los Angeles Games. He bought several stamps through friends in the United States but none of the postmarks had the right date.

"I had already spent over 1,000 yuan on this collection and I was getting a bit frustrated. But fortunately I happened to get it from a local stamp trader and it only cost me 100 yuan," he said.

"What I want now is the signature of Liu Changchun."

It is very difficult to get Liu's signature because the Olympian had tried to keep a low profile, he said. He died in 1983.

Olympic wishes

Tu has two Olympic wishes: to become a torchbearer and to hold exhibitions overseas.

As the only representative for the millions of Chinese stamp collectors, Tu took part in the 2008 Olympic torchbearer selection. His passion for the Olympic movement and the large collection won over 80,000 votes in the competition. Now he has been shortlisted in the final round.

He said the relationship between stamp collectors and the Olympic Games dates back to 1896 when the first Olympic Games was held in Athens. Two Greek stamp collectors suggested the local government launch a set of Olympic stamps to raise money for the venue construction. The government officials took heed and half of the revenue was poured into the venues.

"There was no one representing Chinese stamp collectors during the 2004 Athens Olympic torch relay in Beijing, so this time I want to become the first one from our group," Tu said.

He also wants to pass his Olympic passion on to people outside China.

"I want to display my collections in Athens and Los Angeles," he said.

"Athens is the home of the Olympic Games and Los Angeles is the place where the first Chinese Olympian competed, and where Xu Haifeng took China's first Olympic gold."