The surging Asia - written on the occasion of the opening of the 19th Asian Games, as the tide of the Hangzhou Asian Games rises over the Qiantang River

Hangzhou, September 22 (Xinhua) - The light of Liangzhu and the brilliance of the autumnal equinox. On the evening of the 23rd, the long-awaited Hangzhou Asian Games will open at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium "Big Lotus" on the banks of the Qiantang River. Asian athletes gather by the West Lake to play the era of "heart to heart integration, love for the future" in the name of sports.

This is the gathering of Hangzhou and the Asian Games. From Beijing to Guangzhou, and then to Hangzhou, the Asian Games will reunite with China for the third time and will undoubtedly become another historic "two-way journey".

This is the convergence of China and the world. The 33 year era echoes, and competitions such as the Asian Games continue to promote the meeting and mutual understanding between China, Asia, and the world.

This is the convergence of history and the future. The splendid and long-standing Chinese civilization shines brilliantly on the land of Zhijiang. This land with beautiful mountains, rivers, and diverse cultures integrates agricultural and marine civilizations, and sets sail towards a vast future with the spirit of "working hard, leading the way, and standing at the forefront".

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

Carrying on the past and opening up the future, Hangzhou opens a new chapter in the Asian Games

On September 16, 2015, in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, Prince Ahmed, then Chairman of the Olympic Council of Asia, announced at the 34th Olympic Council Congress that Hangzhou, China had won the right to host the 19th Asian Games.

Applause thunderous, Hangzhou and the Asian Games have formed a historical bond.

In the past 8 years, the preparation for the Hangzhou Asian Games has been filled with anticipation and joy, as well as the pressure and challenges under the impact of the epidemic. Having gone through countless rivers and mountains, the grand event finally took place in its prime during the harvest season of 2023.

Children take a photo with the mascot of the Hangzhou Asian Games at Wulin Square located in Gongshu District, Hangzhou City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Zongzhi

This is the largest Asian Games, with over 12000 athletes registering to participate; This is the Asian Games with the most projects, and new projects such as breakdancing will make their debut; This is the most widely covered Asian Games, with an unprecedented set of 5 co hosting cities; This is a widely participated Asian Games both online and offline. In addition to more than 2000 torchbearers participating in the offline torch relay, the total number of participants in the online "Asian Games Digital Torchbearers" event had exceeded 100 million before the opening, covering more than 130 countries and regions worldwide.

Zhejiang has a rich cultural heritage. Since the appearance of human footprints tens of thousands of years ago, the people living here have created brilliant and splendid culture. Zhejiang has played an important role in various periods of Chinese history. Since the reform and opening up, Zhejiang has established itself in China, looked at the world, and embarked on a solid and broad path of development.

Hangzhou, known for its beautiful scenery for thousands of years, has made significant progress in various fields such as economy, culture, and society with the tide of reform and opening up. Since 2003, Hangzhou has been carefully guarding its precious cultural traditions and humanistic sentiments while experiencing rapid economic development. Economically, Hangzhou's gross domestic product reached nearly 1.9 trillion yuan in 2022, ranking among the top cities in the country. At the same time, Hangzhou has also received high praise in the evaluation system of urban happiness in China, which is based on indicators such as social security, cultural heritage, and civilization level.

On September 20th, citizens watched the torch relay. Photo by Sun Fei, journalist from Xinhua News Agency

The unique cultural genes and historical heritage nourish this land that is open, inclusive, confident, and stands at the forefront of the times. When Hangzhou holds hands with the Asian Games, it is destined to stage an extraordinary story.

Wang Hao, governor of Zhejiang Province, said, "The eight years of preparation for the Asian Games has greatly boosted the vitality of the people of Zhejiang, comprehensively improved the level of infrastructure construction such as transportation, environment and municipal administration, and developed and expanded the sports, tourism, exhibition and other industries. We believe that the success of the Asian Games will further inspire the people of the province to strive for a new era and forge ahead on a new journey with a more ambitious attitude, and will certainly promote Zhejiang to play a leading role in the common prosperity and Chinese path to modernization."

Multi stage, Four Seas Joining in the Asian Games

From the 1990 Beijing Asian Games, to the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, and to the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, China became the host of the Asian Games for the third time.

Faced with the invitation from Hangzhou for the Asian Games, various countries and regions in Asia actively responded. All 45 members of the Asian Olympic Council signed up, and countries and regions such as South Korea, Mongolia, and Palestine sent the largest Asian Games delegation in history. The total number of athletes who signed up for the Asian Games exceeded 12000, setting a record for the largest number of Asian Games in history. The Asian Games, which is the largest in scale, with the most projects and the widest coverage, embodies the beautiful expectations of the Asian people for peace and exchange, and demonstrates the common aspiration of the Asian people for unity and cooperation.

On September 9th, airport staff and volunteers from the Hangzhou Asian Games guided members of the Hong Kong delegation to handle entry related procedures. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han

Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly, Chen Guangfang, said that the Hangzhou Asian Games is a grand event for athletes from various Asian countries and regions, which will enhance mutual understanding, unity, and friendship among Asian countries and regions, and contribute to the construction of an increasingly strong and prosperous Asia.

International Olympic Committee member and Thai Olympic Committee Vice President Patama stated that Asia is a region full of multiculturalism, and for athletes and delegations, the Asian Games is a very good opportunity to further deepen mutual understanding and exchange through sports as a link.

Zhou Jinqiang, Vice Chairman of the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee and Vice Chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee, said, "The Hangzhou Asian Games is an important platform for Asian sports unity and cooperation. Sports pave the way and bridge the way, cultural exchanges and mutual learning, and I believe this will also be a vivid practice of building an 'Asian community with a shared future'."

Asia breathes together, the world shares a common destiny. The rich history and diverse culture will bloom freely on the stage of the Asian Games, laying another cornerstone for Asia to move towards a better future and contributing to the unique strength of China and Asia to world peace and progress.

Raja Randir Singh, Acting President of the Olympic Council of Asia, said, "I believe we will see the greatest Asian Games in history."

Light up tomorrow, the Asian Games witness "the future has come"

Connecting the past and future, connecting reality and dreams, the Hangzhou Asian Games showcased a development path towards a better tomorrow.

The future is an intelligent world. Hangzhou injects new vitality into the hosting, participation, and observation of the Asian Games using a massive amount of innovative elements. The sports event digital hosting platform "Asian Games DingTalk" has achieved a large-scale collaboration among hundreds of thousands of staff and volunteers in terms of "organization online, communication online, and business online". The digital competition service platform "Hangzhou Yarun" can provide convenient and thoughtful "fingertip services" such as news information and translation hotlines anytime and anywhere. The digital observation service platform "Intelligent Asian Games One Stop Connection" connects various Asian Games scenarios, integrates various urban services, and provides viewers with 28 services such as ticket purchase, travel, observation, accommodation, dining, and tourism... One by one, the world's first, pioneering, and first used technology applications have equipped the Hangzhou Asian Games with the eyes of technology and wings of innovation, depicting an intelligent landscape of sports and technology intersection, presenting a unique Asian Games style.

On September 12th, media reporters experienced AR smart buses. On that day, the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee held the Asian Games Village Media Open Day event, focusing on showcasing the green, intelligent, and cultural elements within the Asian Games Village. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Weng Xinyang

The future is a green world. Among the 56 competition venues for the Hangzhou Asian Games and Asian Paralympics, only 12 have been newly built, while the rest have been renovated and upgraded from old venues. The Hangzhou Asian Games will achieve the first time in the history of the Asian Games that all competition venues will use green electricity for conventional electricity, and green energy will support the low-carbon operation of the Hangzhou Asian Games. The rooftop "Sky Garden" located at the Fuyang Water Sports Center in Hangzhou has the functions of carbon sequestration, oxygen release, thermal insulation, and reducing rainwater runoff. It is expected to save about 1000 tons of water per month; The Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Swimming Pool has implemented a non electric lighting system with light pipes and water recycling; The Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium "Big Lotus" adopts an ice storage system, which makes ice and stores energy at night and melts ice during the day to reduce peak electricity consumption. Green has not only become a moving color for the development of Hangzhou, but also reflects the unique charm of this city. Just like in a park by West Lake, the pedestal of the statue of Marco Polo bears the traveler's impression of Hangzhou at the end of the 13th century - "Hangzhou is the most beautiful and luxurious city in the world."

This is a photo taken on June 28, 2023 at the swimming pool and gymnasium of Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Zongzhi

The future is a diverse world. People from different cultural backgrounds can peacefully communicate with each other, learn from each other among civilizations, and seek common development. As the main venue for communication and exchange among athletes from various delegations, the Asian Games Village, the main base of the Asian Games, has been built into a safe, warm, and comfortable "Asian Games home". Raja Randir Singh, Acting President of the Olympic Council of Asia, expressed great satisfaction with the construction of the athlete's village after visiting it. He said that in competitions like the Asian Games, athlete villages are very important, and all services should be centered around athletes. The Hangzhou Asian Games did a good job in this regard.

Li Huolin, the village chief of Hangzhou Asian Games Village, also said, "During this Asian Games, which coincides with the Mid Autumn Festival and National Day, we have carefully prepared cultural performances with themes such as' Encountering the Mid Autumn Festival 'and' Encountering Jiangnan '. We will also hold rich activities such as acrobatics and folk music, allowing residents of the Asian Games Village to immerse themselves in the charm and charm of Chinese culture, leaving behind beautiful memories of the Hangzhou Asian Games and paradise on earth."

Located on the northern ridge of Zhejiang, the magnificent Qiantang River surges forward, colliding with the sea to create beautiful waves. The Hangzhou Asian Games, riding the wave of the times, join hands with Asia's partners to draw a magnificent picture of cultural integration and lighting up the future.