We are now in the final countdown until China's first International Import Expo, which will kick off in Shanghai on Monday. Chinese President Xi Jinping will open the event, as the city welcomes trade representatives from around the world. Ahead of the massive fair, more than 5-thousand Chinese and international college students were recruited, as part of the event preparation. CGTN's Han Peng takes us to meet some of them.

Young, energetic and confident, these young people will soon be in the midst of what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They are the over 5,000 volunteers set to lend a helping hand at China's first international import expo. PRIYANKA is a university student from Nepal.

PRIYANKA SHAKYA CIIE VOLUNTEER FROM NEPAL "It's my first time to participate in such a big event. It's really huge. I'm very very excited, but also a little scared, because there will be a lot of people from different countries and everywhere."

But a big event also needs a lot of trivial, if not boring work on the smaller details. Wang Shu is a senior student at Shanghai's prestigious International Studies University. But the job for this future diplomat has been assigned doesn't seem that high-flying.

WANG SHU CIIE VOLUNTEER "Our responsibility is to collect the information, and check the information on the certificate, and then issue the certificates to the participants."

Their office isn't even located inside the expo venue. It's a humble structure temporarily set up for the making of the certificates.

WANG SHU CIIE VOLUNTEER "There are exhibitors, there are buyers, and there are media reporters. There are many different categories of certificates."

HAN PENG SHANGHAI "It's hard to believe that this is the birthplace of over 600,000 certificates for 600,000 people taking part in the expo, including mine. This small piece of paper contains a huge amount of hard work."

But Wang says she feels proud to be a part of history. The race to become a volunteer for the CIIE was quite competitive. For instance, the ability to speak at least one foreign language is a basic requirement. And while their individual tasks may seem small, the volunteers will in fact act as ambassadors bringing different cultures together.

PRIYANKA SHAKYA CIIE VOLUNTEER FROM NEPAL "Because my dad is doing business as well. So I tell my family to follow the exhibition and share with their own friends as well. That'll be more helpful for them."

Talking with these volunteers reminds me of my volunteer work 10 years ago at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers helped make the Games happen, and the event later became a milestone in China's opening up. My task was to help foreigners check in at hotels. Much has changed in China over the past decade, but youth, vigor and confidence remain on the faces of a new generation of volunteers. Han Peng, CGTN, Shanghai.