What kind of Hangzhou story is it telling?, The Birth of Medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games: Behind "Hushan" - Asian Games | Medals | Hushan

Three sides of Yunshan and one side of the city. The lake and mountain scenery of "heaven on earth" adds a touch of novelty to the Asian Games——

On June 15th, the 100 day countdown theme event for the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games was held at the Hangzhou Esports Center in China, and the Hangzhou Asian Games medals were officially released.

The medal is named "Hushan", inspired by the 5000 year Liangzhu civilization, showcasing the culture of Jiangnan in China and presenting the landscape of Hangzhou. It integrates square jade cong and circular medals, embodying the spirit of beauty and unity, and harmony but difference in the Asian Games.

This is the first time in the design of Asian Games medals that "square and circle blend" has been adopted, breaking the conventional layout of placing the sports emblem in the center of the medal. The logo is placed on an open canvas, reflecting an open and inclusive Eastern aesthetic.

"Hushan" was created by Zhang Junjie, the director of the Industrial Design Department of the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, and other design team members led by Jiang Yuqin. After thorough communication with the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee, the design was completed after nearly two years of repeated revisions and argumentation. What kind of Hangzhou story does the Asian Games medal, which carries the supreme glory of athletes, tell?

Drawing inspiration from the Song painting "Water Painting"

How did the name "Hushan" come from?

The front is round, while the back is square. The appearance of "lake and mountain" is unique.

Medals are an important visual image of the Hangzhou Asian Games, showcasing the cultural characteristics and hosting philosophy of the host country and city. The design imagery of "Hu Shan" gathers the three major world cultural heritage sites of West Lake, Grand Canal, and Liangzhu Ancient City in Hangzhou, presenting the geographical characteristics of Hangzhou.

On the obverse side of the medal, a protruding line is used to outline the picturesque scene of Hangzhou with "three sides of clouds, mountains, and one side of the city". The ripples of the lake and the undulating mountains are breathtaking; On the back of the medal, it resembles a square seal, symbolizing the athletes leaving a beautiful mark at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

"I initially found inspiration in Ma Yuan's" Water Painting "by a painter from Hangzhou during the Song Dynasty. The 5000 year old Liangzhu, the 2500 year old Canal, and the 2000 year old West Lake all came into view like historical waves." Zhang Junjie said that after the team traveled to the Zhejiang River water areas such as the Qiantang River, Fuchun River, and Xin'an River, they discovered that the Jiangnan style represented by water can reflect the outstanding people and land of Hangzhou.

With water, what should we use to "bloom" this image? "We hope to find a core spirit that best represents the cultural heritage of Hangzhou and also represents the grandeur of a great country, while also considering the connection with the core imagery of the torch 'firewood' and 'laurel crown'." Zhang Junjie said.

In order to find more inspiration, the design team visited museums related to Liangzhu culture and West Lake culture. After carefully observing cultural relics such as jade cong and jade bi at the Liangzhu Museum, it was found that the jade cong, which is round inside and square outside and connects heaven and earth with ritual, fits the core image with special representativeness that the team is looking for.

The charm of mountains and rivers, as well as the spirit of Zhejiang, are not only depicted in the details of medal design, but also leave a vivid mark on the naming of medals. Under the careful guidance of the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee and after multiple discussions and modifications, the design team has acquired the catchy name "Hushan" for the medals of the Hangzhou Asian Games.

The design team said that "Hushan" expresses the temperament of Hangzhou, the ecological civilization capital. The scenery of the lakes and mountains, green waters and mountains, has created gold and silver mountains, as well as gold and silver medals; It showcases the sportsmanship of daring to climb high peaks, where people come from high mountains to climb one peak after another. Amidst the layers of mountains, athletes strive tenaciously, challenge themselves, and climb one peak after another.

Medal front

Square and circle blend together, and the emblem moves around

A small medal brings two "rarities"

The "Hu Shan" that first met the world is destined to leave its name in the history of Asian Games medals. During the design process, it brought two "rarities"——

Firstly, the rarity of medal forms.

The medals of the Asian Games have been won multiple times, with different patterns but consistent shapes, and the core graphics are all circular. After adopting the image of jade cong, the design team broke this tradition by integrating square jade cong and circular medals, forming a rare "square circle fusion" shaped medal in the history of the Asian Games, with high recognition.

The second rarity falls on the design of the medal pattern.

In traditional medal design, the Asian Games emblem is centered; And the emblem of "Hushan" was moved to the top, replaced by a silhouette of the broken bridge and the three pools imprinting the moon in the center of the medal, symbolizing West Lake in Hangzhou. The undulating waves formed by 19 graceful curves, like mountains surrounding each other, convey the commemorative significance of the 19th Asian Games.

As a whole, the emblem of the Hangzhou Asian Games is like floating in the sky above the lakes and mountains, reflecting the integration of Hangzhou's history, culture, and technological innovation through its dynamic and innovative design.

On the back of the medal

Paired with the "Hu Shan" medal, there is also a medal packaging box that uses the image of jade cong. The box body adopts the Asian Games color of "Rainbow Rhyme Purple", and the design is based on the circular shape of the jade cong outside and inside, as well as traditional Chinese mortise and tenon technology. The cover buckle adopts a heaven and earth cover structure, and the inner layer is covered with velvet soft bags, which can properly store medals and ribbons.

"We hope to convey the history, characteristics, and vitality of Hangzhou. As a landscape city, Hangzhou embodies the concept of harmonious integration of culture and nature, as well as the harmonious development of technology and green." said Zhang Junjie.

Three major world heritage sites have been awarded medals

Even the ribbon has a story behind it

In the medal itself, we see elements from the ruins of West Lake and Liangzhu Ancient City. Where is the Grand Canal, another world cultural heritage site, reflected? Zhang Junjie pointed to the bridge shaped buckle at the top of the ribbon.

The use of buckles on medal ribbons is rare in the history of the Asian Games. "This is the design we deliberately adhere to, and the core image comes from the Gongchen Bridge." Zhang Junjie said, "The bridge shaped buckle is like a bow tie on a garment, forming a constraint on the ribbon. When athletes wear it, the ribbon will open above the buckle, forming a very clean shape.".

Bridge type buckle

Upon closer inspection, it can be observed that the bridge shaped buckle is divided into two halves, with frosted metal above and mirrored metal below, symbolizing half as a bridge and half as a reflection, showcasing the Jiangnan characteristics of water and bridge towns.

In addition, the connection method of the buckle adopts the ear structure of the buckle shaft, which fixes the ribbon inside the medal and is designed as a hidden structure, making the entire appearance more concise and atmospheric.

In addition to the three major world cultural heritage sites, Hangzhou also has a golden business card - silk.

"Hushan" uses real silk medal ribbons. In order to reflect the uniqueness of the Asian Games ribbons, the ribbon manufacturer has specially developed a new jacquard fabric called "Asian Games Brocade", which uses 100% 6A grade mulberry silk raw material, weaving jacquard technology and environmentally friendly printing technology, and is precision sewn on both sides by hand.

Supported by the newly developed GBART digital green printing and dyeing core technology, the production process has almost zero sewage discharge, fully demonstrating the green hosting concept of the Hangzhou Asian Games.

In the work of the design team

Over 600 days and more than 20 rounds of revisions

What "addition and subtraction" have you done?

There are still 100 days left until the Hangzhou Asian Games, and the medal "Hushan" is being intensively produced. It will adopt processes such as embossing, numerical milling of shapes and grooves, trimming and brushing, gold and silver plating, and surface protection.

From the first stroke to the final draft over 600 days later, the design team went through more than 20 rounds of revisions in two years. "This may be one of the longest and most challenging design tasks that my team and I have ever completed," said Zhang Junjie. Especially as an industrial design work, it is necessary to bridge the "gap" from artistic design to production and manufacturing.

Design is carried out completely according to the product development process, and requires a series of processes such as sketches, draft models, simulation models, and real samples to be repeatedly verified. Zhang Junjie recalled that the process could be described as "very tortuous", going through multiple setbacks and staying up late hundreds of times, selecting the best among the best, and finally becoming the version we see today.

Design draft

In the constantly iterating design draft, some details were discarded after repeated argumentation. "For example, the design of the wire groove on the side wall of the medal can reflect the characteristics of the jade cong. Due to the risk of craftsmanship, we gave up considering the best quality of the medal," said Zhang Junjie. But there are also some elements that are well preserved. For example, the bridge shaped buckle design, although increasing the manufacturing difficulty, can add icing on the cake to the ribbon form imagery.

In the view of the design team, the design of Asian Games medals is an important design work that represents the spirit of the Asian Games. Medals have the opportunity to interact with every athlete, hoping to form spiritual communication with athletes through the presentation of "lakes and mountains", and inspire every athlete with sportsmanship.

"I am looking forward to seeing athletes wear this medal. The moment an athlete wears a medal represents not only the honor they have received, but also a recognition in my heart. I hope the medal design can leave a beautiful impression on athletes from various Asian countries about China and Hangzhou," said Zhang Junjie.