Hangzhou Asian Games | Revealing the Birth of "Tide": Making the World Survive - Interpretation of the Hangzhou Asian Games Emblem

Hangzhou, September 7th (Xinhua) - "The waves roll over the Haimen Stone and the clouds cross the Tianji Mountain." For thousands of years, the Qiantang River tide has been famous worldwide. In the golden autumn season, the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou will grandly open on the banks of the Qiantang River, with the emblem "Tide" borrowing the autumn water of the river and the sound of thousands of waves.

This is the emblem of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou. Image from the official website of the Hangzhou Asian Games

How was the emblem of the Asian Games born? How will the surging tide stir people's hearts?

Stand out among 4263 works

On January 29, 2018, the collection of design proposals for the emblem of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou was launched. More than two months later, at the Hangzhou Sports Center, there were 4263 eligible applications and over 280 conference tables filled.

How to "discern pearls" from massive works?

The Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee has established a review committee consisting of 15 experts, including experts from the fields of art and design, representatives from the sports department, and well-known athletes.

Each judge selected about 20 works, with a total of 296 works entering the re evaluation. Afterwards, 4 winning works were selected from the 10 shortlisted works, and their authors made modifications according to the opinions of the judging committee. Finally, the two design proposals were submitted to the Asian Olympic Council by the Hangzhou Asian Organizing Committee.

"The emblem represents a city's interpretation and understanding of the Olympic spirit, and is an important visual image element and cultural carrier of the Asian Games. It must simultaneously reflect selection criteria such as' sports, Asia, China, Hangzhou ', and meet requirements for design aesthetics, extension and application." said Song Jianming, Executive Vice Chairman of the judging expert group and Director of the Color Research Institute of the China Academy of Fine Arts.

On May 18, 2019, staff took a photo next to the model of the first set of personalized special stamps for the Hangzhou Asian Games. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Zongzhi

After about 190 days, "Tide" stood out.

On July 30, 2018, the "Chaoyong" work designed by the team of Yuan Youmin, a professor of the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, was approved by the Asian Olympic Council and officially released as the emblem of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou on August 6. The main figure consists of six elements: fan, Qiantangjiang, Qianjiang Chaotou, track, Internet symbol and the sun figure symbolizing the Asian Olympic Council. Below is the seal of the name of the host city and the year of the Games. The two together constitute the complete emblem of the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

"'Tide 'is soothing, poetic and picturesque, in line with the characteristics of the water town in Jiangnan, and also reflects the temperament of the people in Jiangnan." Yuan Youmin said that from the beginning of creation, friends were determined to weave a' web of meaning 'to construct the cultural uniqueness and visual recognition of the emblem. "In this' web of meaning ', there are unique symbols representing Hangzhou, the spiritual core symbolizing the people of Zhejiang, as well as elements such as Eastern cultural vocabulary and the color intention of Jiangnan water towns."

Nature and culture complement each other

Why is it a "surge"?

The Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee specially invited representatives from all sectors of society to hold a review meeting on the design scheme of the emblem. It is widely believed that the "surging" atmosphere of the times, humanistic temperament, and originality are strong, with visual impact, in line with the spirit of sports and the urban temperament of Hangzhou. It has obvious advantages in extension and application, and the overall design level is high, with an international perspective.

"At that time, we searched for a batch of keywords around Hangzhou, such as' Zhijiang ',' Dare to be the first in the world ',' Innovation ',' Interconnection ',' Intelligence ',' Tide Runner ',' Qianjiang Tide ', etc. In the end, we identified' Tide '.".

The Qiantang River Tide "Line Tide" captured on August 4th. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Zongzhi

"Tide" not only embodies the wonders of nature, but also the beauty of humanity.

Ye Xiaojie, an engineer at the Qiantang River Basin Center in Zhejiang Province, told reporters that there are over 400 estuaries in the world where tidal surges occur, with the Amazon and Qiantang River estuaries being the most spectacular.

"Compared to other cultures, the Qiantang River Tide has a richer cultural heritage. As early as over 2000 years ago, there were already records of the Qiantang River Tide in historical books," said Zeng Jun, a professor level senior worker at the Qiantang River Basin Center in Zhejiang Province.

"Since ancient times, the Qiantang River has developed water transportation. Starting from the Spring and Autumn period, it gradually formed a 'poetry road'. In the Tang Dynasty, great poets such as Li Bai, Meng Haoran, and Bai Juyi left poems on the river." Xu Jijun, Executive Director of the Qiantang River Culture Research Association in Zhejiang Province and Researcher of the Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences, said that in the Song Dynasty, Pan Lang, Liu Yong, Su Shi, Xin Qiji, and others all wrote magnificent poems and chapters; During the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, poets created a plethora of works to watch the tide.

The "Tide" of the emblem of the Hangzhou Asian Games is a fusion expression of this natural wonder and humanistic spirit - the fan shape reflects the cultural connotation of Jiangnan, the track represents sports, the Internet symbol matches the urban characteristics of Hangzhou, and the sun figure is the symbol of the Asian Olympic Council. At the same time, the Qiantang River and Qianjiang Tide are the core image of the emblem, with green mountains and clear waters showcasing the natural characteristics of Hangzhou's landscape city in Zhejiang. The surging river tide expresses the spiritual temperament of Zhejiang's people standing at the forefront of the tide.

Surging and stirring people's hearts

Bao Zengjun said that some of the core buildings of the Hangzhou Asian Games, including the two Asian Games venues, the Asian Games Village, and the main media center, were once a necessary passage for the Qiantang River and the upstream of the high tide. They were a dance platform where the tide riders stood up against the waves, holding the red flag without getting wet.

This coincidence allows the emblem to "surge" and convey deeper meaning.

This is a photo taken on March 30, 2022 at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Zongzhi

Prince Ahmed, the then President of the Olympic Council of Asia, once expressed through congratulatory letters that the emblem of the Hangzhou Asian Games is full of vitality and dynamism, encompassing the urban cultural characteristics of Hangzhou. I believe that by the time the Asian Games are held, the emblem will have deeply penetrated people's hearts in China, Asia, and even the world, and will be well-known to people.

"Chasing after each other, invincible. The beauty of competition always shocks us deeply and hits our hearts directly." The relevant person in charge of the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee said that the emblem of the Asian Games symbolizes the surge and development of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and also symbolizes the unity and cooperation of the Asian Olympic Council, close embrace, and always move forward.

"One of the important significance of 'Tide' lies in the idea we want to convey: to compete, we must unite." Professor Huang Jian from the School of Literature at Zhejiang University said, "The Asian Games, through sports competition, closely connects Asian countries and regions, making the 'Asian Community of Shared Destiny' more tangible. It is precisely through this grand event that the diverse cultures of various Asian countries and ethnic groups can be brilliant and diverse."

"Faced with the surging tide, the Chinese people did not shrink back or fear. Through hard work and hard work, the two sides of the Qiantang River became a prosperous land for thousands of miles, giving birth to Marco Polo's" the most beautiful and luxurious city in the world ". Xu Jijun said that with the opportunity of the Asian Games, Hangzhou and its co hosting cities will strive to show the world a harmonious and prosperous China, making the world excited.".