Hangzhou - On the night of Oct. 8, the 19th Asian Games wrapped up at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, or the “Big Lotus.” Again, the close ceremony of the grand event was as innovative and marvelous as the opening ceremony, and it captivated all spectators. With the theme of Enduring Memories of Hangzhou, the close ceremony was a celebration and a farewell. Meanwhile, it displayed China’s commitment to building an Asian and global community of a shared future.
The close ceremony of the 19th Asian Games (photo/ Mu Xuelin)
The closing ceremony of the Asian Games fell on Cold Dew, one of China’s 24 solar terms. It’s also an alternating time for lotus and osmanthus in Hangzhou. Therefore, The Lotus and the Osmanthus performance in Harmony was staged.
In a Chinese tradition, plucking a flower and presenting it to a parting friend is a courtesy. The co-existence of lotus and osmanthus expressed harmony between friends. The charming dancing of performers vividly created these two romantic scenes spanning thousands of years. An idea of the solidarity of Asia as a big family was conveyed.
The colossal digital torchbearer appeared again at the close ceremony (Photo/ Mu Xuelin)
The digital colossal torchbearer showed up at the close ceremony again. With the Asian Games flames extinguished, the colossal digital man showed a “hand heart,” a gesture of love, to the Asian Games, all participants and spectators, then ran to the distance and disappeared into myriads of starlight. This starlight would become digital badges as unique gifts to all netizens. After the close ceremony, netizens could acquire these badges at Alipay.
Another innovative utilization of technology was the pioneering “CNC lawn.” Sha Xiaolan, general director of the closing ceremony, introduced that the lawn hides nearly 40,000 light-emitting points, which ensured that a competing venue of the Asian Games would be turned into a ceremony stage within a very short time. During the closing ceremony, the lawn changes to complement the performance, producing patterns such as dazzling flowers and marvelous tides.
It’s worth mentioning that multiple fruitful outcomes have been generated from the Hangzhou Asian Games. A total of 15 world records, 37 Asian records, and 170 Asian Games records have been broken during the games. The Chinese delegation won 201 gold medals, the best record in the Asian Games history.
At the same time, as of Oct. 7, 3.05 million tickets were sold, with the audience attendance rate exceeding 92%.