CBN Friday Special丨Biggest-ever Asian Games ready for liftoff in Hangzhou

With the flickering flame, the Games ensue. 

Following years of meticulous preparation and months of mounting anticipation, Hangzhou's long-awaited moment in the sun has finally dawned. 

Nestled in the eastern realms of China's Zhejiang Province, the city stands at the precipice of a momentous occasion as it prepares to unveil the largest edition of the Asian Games this Saturday.  

This extraordinary assembly will play host to a staggering 12,500 athletes hailing from 45 countries and regions. Their collective ambition will be channeled through 40 distinct sports, comprising 61 disciplines and 481 events, all in pursuit of the coveted glory that awaits them.

The Chinese delegation for the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games was officially set up last week. A total of 886 athletes from the Chinese mainland will participate in the multi-sport event.

Running from Sept 28 to Oct 8, the Games will largely be hosted in historic Hangzhou city but will also feature other venues in five neighboring cities including Shaoxing, Ningbo and Jinhua.

Smart, green Asian Games

For multi-sport events like the Asian Games, the competition between elite athletes may dominate the focal point, but innovations in making these sporting events a sustainable reality are worth the public's attention as well.

The Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee has set a goal to host the first-ever carbon-neutral Asiad.

Carbon neutrality does not mean not emitting any carbon dioxide but rather minimizing those emissions or offsetting through donations of carbon allowances, carbon credits, and carbon benefits to ultimately achieve carbon neutrality.

For the first time in the history of the Asian Games, the Hangzhou Asian Games will use green electricity for all competition venues.

At present, green power in China mainly includes solar and wind power. Hangzhou has completed 16 transactions totaling 621 million kWh of green energy, equivalent to saving 76,000 tons of standard coal.

From March until the year's end, all 65 competition venues and offices will be powered by green electricity.

Meanwhile, Xu Bin, deputy director of the event’s publicity department, said the games would be “as thrifty as possible”.

New venues were not constructed if existing sites could be renovated to meet Asiad standards. Out of the 56 competition venues, only 12 were built specifically for this event.

Apart from green energy, environmentally friendly technologies have been widely used in equipment, transportation and delivery services in the lead-up to the Games.

In a move to increase sustainability, a number of venues have adopted water recycling systems. For instance, thanks to a rainwater recycling system, the Fuyang Water Sports Center can save around 1,000 tons of water per month, accounting for 35 percent of its consumption.

The Hangzhou Asian Games mascots, whose fabric is made using digital printing technology, are also an innovative attempt at going green.

Auto-driving shuttle services are also available in the Huzhou competition zone.  

For Hangzhou, which is dubbed as an enterprise and innovation hub, the Asian Games is a window to showcase the city's cutting-edge technologies, including big data, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. 

"We will fully utilize Hangzhou's advantage in digital economy to integrate innovative technologies throughout our preparations for the Asian Games to contribute to a successful, splendid and unforgettable sporting and cultural event," said Chen Weiqiang, executive secretary general of the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee.

Another highlight of Hangzhou's efforts to host "smart Games" is the digital torchbearer program which allows any smartphone users to take part in the torch relay.

Organizers said the online digital torch relay has attracted over 100 million participants since it was launched on June 15. It will conclude with a digital light show at the opening ceremony.

"This is the first online torchbearer in the history of the Asian Games, a remarkable achievement for Hangzhou in its efforts to host a smart Asian Games," said Husain Al-Musallam, director-general of the Olympic Council of Asia.

Connecting Asia with rich culture 

The Asian Games is a grand sports event and a cultural feast as well.

The emblem "Tides Surging" of the Hangzhou Asian Games is the first visual identity symbol revealed for the Games. Its fan-shaped design integrates elements such as the Qiantang River, Qiantang tidal bore, racetracks, internet symbols, and the sun representing the Olympic Council of Asia, fusing together the distinct culture of Jiangnan, or south of the Yangtze River, with contemporary vibrancy.

Hangzhou, known as "paradise on Earth" and the "House of Silk," was a key linking point on the Maritime Silk Road. And the silk elements of the city inspired the graceful yet flexible, fine yet smooth, gentle yet vibrant design of the Asian Games' core graphics "Meeting the world."  

From the West Lake imagery in the "Shan Shui" medals, to the featured floral branches in the victory ceremony bouquet "Fruits of Triumph," and to the blue and white porcelain elements on the uniforms designed for the Chinese delegation, traditional culture can be seen everywhere, reflecting Hangzhou's humanistic beauty.

In Hangzhou, the government has been earnestly gearing up to host the Asian Games. Throughout the event, the Games Village will host a series of cultural exhibitions and performances to foster interaction and friendship among athletes from different nations. These captivating showcases will include cultural bazaars, artistic performances that embody the essence of Hangzhou, and a magnificent celebration to mark the 110th anniversary of the Asian Games. 

There are various "Cultural Houses" where athletes are able to enjoy a cup of tea with friends, marveling at the intricate craftsmanship of fan-making, delve into the ancient techniques of traditional embroidery and porcelain making, and design and make their own personalized artistic seals. These "Cultural Houses" are truly enlightening windows showcasing the richness and beauty of the traditional Chinese culture.

Hangzhou residents also held a variety of colorful sports activities to carry on their enthusiasm for the Asian Games. In the spirit of the Asian Games, friendly games-themed activities have been set up in which participants will win prizes, including fun running and other activities. 

More than 100 scattered and beautiful rural courtyards from the surrounding villages of the Asian Games venues have also been included in the preparations ahead of the Games.

As for the highly anticipated event, the opening ceremony, which starts at 8 pm on Saturday at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, will break the tradition of having fireworks performance, as it is sticking to a green philosophy in hosting the event, said Sha Xiaolan, the general director of the games' opening ceremony.

Instead, a number of new technologies will be used to touch the audience with the theme of "people, beauty and emotions". The breathtaking projections, depicting Hangzhou's past and present, onto the floor and background screens, the glass-free 3D images of athletic actions and the innovative lighting of the cauldron, which will involve a virtual torchbearer, will be among some of the showpiece moments of the ceremony, according to Sha.

The highlight of the show will see the sky above the stadium lit up by millions of virtual sparks, each representing the participants of the game's online torch relay, which will eventually form the shape of a person who is expected to descend to the stage and light the main cauldron together with the final physical torchbearer.

It's the first of time that such a method is being used to ignite the main flame of a major international sporting event, a method that has stood out from the previous routines and reflects the essence of sport, which is to involve people, the director said.

Hangzhou receiving a new push of consumption  

Hangzhou is expected to see the "most intense tourist wave" in recent years during the Games, with over 20 million tourists, according to the city's tourism authority, with the Games also coinciding with the Mid-Autumn Festival and Golden Week holiday in October.

Already, Hangzhou ranks among the top three cities in China in terms of tourism popularity during the upcoming holidays, with travel orders on several online booking platforms up more than five times year-on-year.

The hosting of the Asian Games has increased international air ticket bookings to Hangzhou by more than 20 times compared with last year, and the number of hotel bookings around event venues has increased by more than three times compared with last year.

Tickets for swimming, diving, table tennis, badminton and other popular events of the 19th Asian Games are almost sold out, according to travel agencies, adding that hotels, air and train tickets in host city Hangzhou and surrounding co-host cities Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huzhou, Shaoxing and Jinhua are in short supply.

With the Games around the corner, the "Asian Games economy" is not only attracting more orders both at home and abroad, it's also expected to drive culture and sports consumption further.

In downtown Hangzhou, close to West Lake, a popular tourist attraction, mascots Chenchen, Congcong and Lianlian can be seen at nearly every turn �C hanging on banners on lamp posts, on the sides of buildings, and behind glass displays in shops selling Asian Games merchandise.

Yiwu, a global manufacturing hub and export center for small commodities, has also seen a boost in its orders as the Games fuel enthusiasm around Asia, with some vendors of football items saying orders are piled up through October.

From January to July, Yiwu exported 4.21 billion yuan of sporting goods, up 24.6 percent year-on-year, according to the Yiwu customs authority. Exports of sporting goods to Asian countries increased 12.7 percent year-on-year to 1.42 billion yuan. 

In 2021, the Hangzhou municipal authority estimated that its investment in stadiums, airports and mass transit projects for the Asian Games had driven up its GDP by 414.1 billion yuan, or 7.6 percent of total GDP during the period from 2016-20.

In the first half of this year, Hangzhou received 53.23 million tourists, up 64.5 percent year-on-year, and tourism income totaled 91.5 billion yuan, up 65.3 percent, according to the Hangzhou tourism authority.

The event is also lifting consumption in Hangzhou's surrounding cities. In the past week, searches for surrounding co-host cities Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huzhou, Shaoxing and Jinhua all doubled month-on-month. Zhejiang's bookings for bed-and-breakfast facilities rank second nationwide for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, online booking platform Qunar data showed.

齐聚西子湖畔，共享亚运盛会。

9月23日，杭州第19届亚运会将从“浙”开幕，神州大地也将迎来与亚运盛会的第三次“邂逅”。

从北京到广州再到杭州，跨越33年光阴，中国将第三次以亚运会为名，为不同地域、不同肤色的人们搭建起和平与友谊的平台。在西子湖边、钱塘江畔、大运河旁，杭州期待和来自五湖四海的宾朋携手共奏“爱达未来”的和谐乐章。

历时八年筹备，在象征着丰收的农历秋分节气，亚运之光将照亮西子湖畔，中国也将践行“绿色、智能、文明、节俭”理念，向世界奉献一届“中国特色、亚洲风采、精彩纷呈”的盛会。

杭州亚运会项目数量创历届亚运会之最，其中既有田径、游泳等奥运大项，也有武术、藤球、板球、克柔术等代表不同地域体育文化的特色项目，还有首次成为亚运会正式项目的霹雳舞和电子竞技。

7月27日举行的杭州亚运会第二场媒体吹风会上，杭州亚组委正式对外公布竞赛报名相关信息。杭州亚运会共有来自亚洲45个国家和地区代表团的12527名运动员报名参赛，报名人数创历届之最。其中，中国、泰国、日本、韩国、印度、中国香港6个代表团报名人数超过600人。

9月12日，杭州第十九届亚运会中国体育代表团正式成立。中国亚运代表团成员共1329名，其中运动员886人，女运动员437人，男运动员449人，平均年龄25岁，包括了36名奥运冠军。 

杭州亚组委副主席、国家体育总局副局长周进强表示，报名情况显示，亚洲体育健儿对杭州亚运会充满期待。

亚奥理事会代理主席拉贾・兰迪尔・辛格近日表示，杭州去年就已经做好了举办亚运会的准备，“我相信，我们将看到有史以来最伟大的亚运会。”

匠心提质 “人间天堂”欢迎四海宾朋

办好一个会，提升一座城。

8月8日，历时五年多建设，杭州市民期盼已久的天目山路隧道开通试运行，标志着杭州东西向最长快速路――钱塘快速路全线通车。

钱塘快速路是杭州市“四纵五横”快速路网系统中位于城市最中心的“一横”，也是杭州亚运会重要的交通保障工程。未来，这条“穿江连城”的快速路将加强区块沟通衔接，提高路网通行效率，释放城市发展活力。

亚运全面提升交通等基础设施水平，天目山路隧道只是一个缩影。伴随场馆建设和改造一起进行的环境提升、公共服务等城市配套建设，在杭州及宁波、温州、金华、绍兴、湖州5个协办城市同步加速推进。

历经新冠疫情影响、赛事延期举办等诸多挑战，杭州亚运会始终坚持“体育惠民”原则，开创了国内综合性体育赛事场馆赛前向社会开放的范例。

与此同时，借助科技力量，杭州亚运会还推出“数字火炬手”，通过数字化探索和创新，打破地域和时间限制，让更多人自由参与并享受这场国际体育盛会，接力成为奥林匹克精神的传递者。

数字经济作为浙江发展的亮丽名片，2022年数字经济核心产业增加值达8977亿元，占GDP比重11.6%。

“中国制造”在亚运会乘风破浪。专属本次杭州亚运会的复兴号亚运智能动车组列车就“科技感”满满，车头采用“鹰隼”仿生学设计，可大幅降低空气阻力；车内气压与温度自动调节系统，可有效减轻车辆穿越隧道时气压变化对人耳的影响。此外还有搭配基于人体工程学进行优化调整的车厢座椅、全车“5G+WiFi”、智能交互终端……乘车体验在科技赋能下不断优化。

为了达到简约办赛的要求和避免场馆“白象”，杭州亚运会的场馆建设坚持“能改不建”原则，56个竞赛场馆中除了12个是新建场馆，其他都是改建或者临建。同时，场馆在开始建设时就谋划了赛后利用的问题。目前，51个场馆制定了下一步具体利用计划，确定了下一步可持续运营的单位。

作为“绿水青山就是金山银山”理念的诞生地，浙江在筹办过程中，始终将“绿色”放在办赛理念的首位，出台了《“无废亚运”行动方案》，发出“无废亚运”十条倡议，推进16个“无废亚运细胞”示范点建设，全力打造全球首个大型“无废”赛事。

文化为桥 杭州尽情展现东方之美

亚运会是一场体育竞技的盛会，亦是一次展现深厚文化内涵的盛宴。

伴随着赛事氛围日益浓厚，世界的目光聚焦浙江杭州、亚洲中国。他们在感受，这场盛会正在用千万种语言，诉说诗画江南的独特魅力，勾勒中华五千年灿烂文明的风华。

亚运美学文化之旅，就从那些无声又无处不在的标识系统中启程。

眼下，街头巷尾最闪耀的“明星”，莫过于杭州亚运会吉祥物。“江南忆，最忆是杭州。”“江南忆”便是他们的“团名”，承载着深厚历史底蕴，展示着充满时代活力的杭州形象。

良渚古城遗址、西湖、大运河是杭州的三大世界遗产。不仅是吉祥物，这三大遗产相关的元素贯穿了奖牌、花器、火炬等亚运器物，彰显着中国的人文历史、自然风光、创新基因。

素有“丝绸之府”之称的杭州，自古就有“半壁西湖半壁绸”的美誉。顺理成章，杭州亚运会的核心图形“润泽”取自丝绸元素，呈现出飘逸舒展、温润细腻、挥洒灵动的视觉效果，体现了“温润万方、泽被天下”的气韵与胸襟，寓意亚奥理事会大家庭在杭州欢聚，亚洲多彩文化在杭州交流。

正如“丝绸之路”从陆地开始，又延伸到海上。丝绸也同样寄托着国与国沟通的心愿，就像今天的杭州亚运会一样。

还有中国队礼服的青花瓷文案，让人联想到宋韵文化的温润雅致；杭州亚运会会徽“潮涌”，寓意了钱塘江文化的奋勇拼搏。

从赛事内容上看，除了集合了31个奥运项目之外，还设置了武术、龙舟等9个根植于中国民间的传统体育运动项目，彰显着亚洲民俗文化的独特魅力。

而在杭州亚运村的文化小屋内，剪纸、制扇技艺、茶文化、古琴艺术等非遗项目和互动展示让亚运会运动员和来访者充分感受到中国非遗文化的氛围感。杭州亚运会打开了一扇文明互鉴的窗口，既向亚洲和世界积极呈现中华文化之美，又开放襟怀与亚洲其他国家与地区多元文化“美美与共”。

最后，备受期待的杭州第19届亚运会开幕式将于9月23日晚在杭州奥体中心体育场举行。开幕式以“潮起亚细亚”为主题，从中国传统文化中找寻灵感，融入典型的浙江以及杭州符号与意象，借助科技的力量，彰显东方美学的独特吸引力与感染力。

本次开幕式最大的不同，就是全程不燃放烟花。“这次取消了烟花，其实是下了很大决心的。”总导演沙晓岚说，“因为大家知道，只要放烟花，空中就一定会有烟尘、粉尘等污染。”

不燃放实体烟花并不意味着热烈的氛围会打折扣。沙晓岚表示，现场将运用三维动画、AR（现实增强）技术，把绚烂的“烟花”展示在电视观众和现场观众面前，“我们采集了各种象征热情的声音元素，结合视觉表达，让大家感受到不是实体胜似实体的烟火表演，通过最近几次的彩排，已经达到了这样的效果。”

另一大亮点是，亚运史上首个数字点火仪式，全民参与，体验感拉满。沙晓岚透露，在9月23日点火仪式当晚，上亿名数字火炬手将会是一个个“小火苗”，汇聚在钱塘江上空，在运动中踏着浪花，形成一个具体的手持火炬的“数字人”，最终来到“大莲花”，和现场第六棒火炬手共同点燃主火炬塔。

9月23日晚的数字点火仪式将会是亚运史上的世界首创，最大限度体现了亚运的“全民性”，也是“人类命运共同体”重要理念的具体实践。

“亚运经济”渐热 文体消费驱动力上升

“因体育赛事奔赴一座城”成为今年的亚运“限定”，为国庆旅游再添“一把火”。根据杭州文旅局预测，亚运会期间，杭州有望迎来近年来最为密集的游客潮，外地游客数量将超过2000万人次。

随着“亚运经济”渐热，杭州旅游消费溢出效应明显，带动周边地区旅游消费增长。多家旅游平台9月21日发布的数据显示，“亚运+”经济火热，餐饮、酒店、民宿等产品预订量热度攀升。

飞猪数据显示，截至9月18日，亚运会期间的杭州机票预订量比去年同时段增长超2倍，酒店预订量比去年同时段增长超4倍。携程数据显示，9月23日到10月8日（杭州亚运会举行期间），杭州酒店预订量同比增长超8倍。

美团、大众点评数据显示，截至9月20日，浙江餐饮堂食的订单量较2019年同期增长超380%，主办城市杭州以及宁波、温州、湖州、绍兴、金华等协办城市的酒店、民宿“一房难求”，杭州跻身国庆铁路“热门TOP10”目的地。

此外，去哪儿大数据显示，宁波、温州、湖州、绍兴、金华近一周搜索量环比上月均增长2倍以上。亚运会期间（9月23日至10月8日），宁波、温州、湖州、绍兴、金华酒店提前预订量同比2019年均增长5倍以上，其中绍兴增长最高，达7.2倍，温州次之增长6.4倍。

亚运会赛程中主要场馆杭州奥体中心、黄龙体育中心周边酒店预订量环比上月增长7倍。平台上亚运会期间杭州地区酒店热门预订商圈为西湖湖滨商圈、武林广场附近、火车东站地区、滨江地区、灵隐度假区、火车城站杭州站、千岛湖中心湖区、西溪湿地商圈、下沙开发区、浙大紫金港校区。

西部证券发布的研报认为，杭州亚运会将促进我国运动行业加速发展。根据北京奥运会及北京冬奥会的经验来看，我国举办的国际性体育赛事将拉动体育运动新一轮热潮，特别是对专项体育类目的追捧将激发体育运动产品消费。

海关数据显示，1-7月，义乌体育用品出口42.1亿元，同比增长24.6%；1-7月义乌对亚洲国家体育用品出口14.2亿元，同比增长12.7%。来自亚洲国家的体育用品订单正在增多，尤其是跑步机、哑铃、杠铃等健身器材的出口增长迅速。在宁波，一些企业正在拓展业务，从专攻运动杖拓展到了其他户外运动器材，逐渐布局户外露营产业，与当地城市一起寻找新商机。

Executive Editor: Sonia YU

Editor: LI Yanxia

Host: Stephanie LI

Writer: Stephanie LI 

Sound Editor: Stephanie LI

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni

Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.

Presented by SFC

编委:  于晓娜

策划、编辑：李艳霞 

播音：李莹亮

撰稿：李莹亮，实习生黄青衣

音频制作：李莹亮

设计：郑文静、廖苑妮

21世纪经济报道海外部 制作

南方财经全媒体集团  出品