For 50-year-old migrant worker, Gong Jinlong, from Liaocheng in East China's Shandong Province, a free medical check-up came to him as a big surprise.

Migrant workers at the construction sites of Olympic venue get a free medical examination on Friday at the People's Hospital of Peking University.  Yang Shizhong

"It's the first time I have received such a comprehensive check-up. It is so thoughtful of the government to arrange this for us," he said on Friday.

Working at the Olympic Green project in Beijing, he and 2,000 other migrant workers, received the check-ups.

Hundreds of doctors and nurses from the People's Hospital of Peking University attended to the workers, who have decided to continue working during the Spring Festival break.

Zhang Meihua, one of the doctors, said most of the workers were suffering from muscle or tendon strain.

"I showed them some relaxing exercises and some basic first-aid treatment. Many of them were very interested, Zhang said.

Like Gong, many migrant workers at the site had never received a proper medical check-up in the past.

"I've been coughing for 10 years, and it's the first time I have had a chance to ask the doctor why I was reluctant to seek medical advice in the past because I do not have sufficient money," said Liu Wanlun, a 35-year-old migrant worker.

"These migrant workers have sacrificed their Spring Festival holiday for the Beijing Olympics. I do respect them. And I do think they deserve all of society's attention and care," Zhang said.