Hangzhou Asian Games: Full of cultural exchange charm

Hangzhou, August 29th (Xinhua) - Whether it's the design of venues such as "Big Lotus", "Small Lotus", "Big Jade Cong", or "Hangzhou Umbrella", or the "Tide" emblem inspired by the Qianjiang River, the "Firework" torch incorporating the elements of Liangzhu Jade Cong, the "Lake and Mountain" medal presenting the landscape of Hangzhou's lakes and mountains, and the "Blue and White Porcelain" dress, elements of excellent traditional Chinese culture are everywhere in the design concepts already released at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Although it has not yet opened, the Hangzhou Asian Games have already showcased the charm of a cultural event.

Large scale sports events are an excellent platform to showcase the cultural landscape of the host country and city. We hope to use our own design language to better showcase Chinese and Hangzhou culture to Chinese and foreign audiences. Yuan Youmin, the main designer of the "Tide" emblem and a professor at the China Academy of Fine Arts, once led a team to incorporate the arch bridge on West Lake into the G20 Hangzhou emblem. This time, they have focused their creativity on the famous Qiantang River Tide. The Qianjiang Tide is a natural wonder, while the Qianjiang Tide viewing is a cultural landscape. Therefore, the imagery of the Qianjiang Tide has both natural and cultural attributes.

In addition to the "Tide" emblem, a series of highly recognizable "Asian Games designs" such as the "Jiangnan Memories" mascot, the "Hu Shan" medal, the "Huo Huo" torch, and the bouquet, tray, and podium used for the awards were all completed by designers from the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts. The Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee and the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts jointly established the Hangzhou Asian Games Art and Design Center in 2019. Professor Han Xu, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, said, "Visitors to the Asian Games definitely hope to see things with more Chinese and Hangzhou characteristics. Therefore, in terms of overall image design, we need to fully reflect the characteristics of our country and local area, and do ourselves well."

In Han Xu's view, different cities have different flavors. Beijing, the capital, is grand and dignified, while Hangzhou in the south of the Yangtze River is more leisurely and romantic. Therefore, the visual art design of the Hangzhou Asian Games places more emphasis on softness. "When we design, we more reflect the cultural heritage of Jiangnan, but it is not the traditional reclusive literati inviting three or five friends to stay in their study and enjoy calligraphy and painting, but rather to open the door to the most typical cultural elements for guests to see, conveying the equality between humans and nature, humans and the environment, and humans and creations."

On the eve of the Hangzhou Asian Games, several cultural and museum institutions in Hangzhou also held multiple exhibitions to create a cultural exchange atmosphere. At the Zhejiang Art Museum on Nanshan Road in West Lake, Hangzhou, the "Game Theory: Asian Games Sports Theme Digital Art Exhibition" showcases the harmonious relationship between art, technology, and sports through 25 works in various art forms such as oil painting, sculpture, comprehensive materials, installations, and new media. During the exhibition, the art museum also simultaneously held the "Stars Know My Heart" public art program, using wearable EEG signal detection devices to generate different "stars" for each participant in the digital space through "mind reading", in response to the theme slogan of "Heart Heart Integration, @ Future" at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

"The Hangzhou Asian Games is a sports event and should also be a cultural exchange event," said Ying Jinfei, the director of the Zhejiang Art Museum. In addition to the "Game Theory" exhibition, they also arranged two themed art exhibitions to welcome the Asian Games - "Oriental Wisdom: Contemporary Art Exhibition of Chinese Traditional Culture" and "The Grand View of Creation - Song Dynasty Calligraphy and Its Influence Special Exhibition". Ying Jinfei said that although sports may seem confrontational, they are actually game based. The spirit of sports has both a competitive and collaborative aspect, which is integrated with Eastern culture.

At the China Tea Museum located in the core tea production area of West Lake Longjing, over a hundred exhibits are exhibited at the "Tea in the Sun and Moon - Asian Tea Culture Exhibition", which tells the story of the symbiosis, growth, and beauty of Chinese tea culture and Asian tea culture: the Song Dynasty Wuzhou kiln sauce glazed porcelain holding pot, the Goryeo blue glazed lotus petal bowl, the Japanese Guiwen Tang mountain water patterned iron pot, the popular mother and child pots in Central and Western Asia, and the commonly used tea utensils in Southeast Asia

Le Suna, Director of the Chen Academic Department at the China Tea Museum Exhibition, said that tea is a national cultural card of China, containing the value concept of "harmony but difference, beauty and cooperation". She hopes to showcase an inclusive, harmonious, and civilized China through this tea culture exhibition. "This exhibition is based in China and faces Asia, viewing the dissemination and development of tea culture from an international perspective."

Starting from the end of August, before and after the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Hangzhou Asian Paralympic Games, the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism also launched a 65 day "City wide Cultural Show, Beautifying and Welcoming the Asian Games" cultural and aesthetic concentrated exhibition, focusing on creating a strong cultural atmosphere to welcome and assist the Asian Games, and organizing a city wide cultural volunteer team to organize thousands of street improvisation performances.

"In a broad sense, sports are a type of leisure activity, and sports culture is a branch of big culture. The Hangzhou Asian Games will play a unique role in building the city's core competitiveness, shaping the city's brand, and enhancing the city's image." Jiang Shanwu, Executive Director of the Zhejiang Urban Governance Research Center, said, "We need to showcase Hangzhou's long historical tradition, as well as the city's innovative vitality and the people's sense of participation and gain."

"The Hangzhou Asian Games undertake the mission of showcasing the face of China and Hangzhou, but appearance is not only about appearance, but also about connotation. Each country and ethnic group has its own cultural connotation." Professor Huang Jian from Zhejiang University said, as Lu Xun once said, "What has a local color can easily become the world." Therefore, the Hangzhou Asian Games can better showcase the cultural characteristics of Jiangnan and Hangzhou.

Huang Jian has participated in the external communication work of the Guangzhou Asian Games. He believes that Chinese culture is diverse and diverse, including various types such as Central Plains culture, Qilu culture, Bashu culture, Lingnan culture, and Jiangnan culture. At that time, the Guangzhou Asian Games focused on Lingnan culture, while the Chengdu Universiade focused on Bashu culture, while the Hangzhou Asian Games certainly focused on Jiangnan culture. "This Asian Games can fully showcase the exquisite, elegant, meticulous, and exquisite characteristics of Jiangnan culture."