On Friday evening, Chinese President Xi Jinping inaugurated the 9. Asian Winter Games in Harbin during a ceremony that highlighted the city's ice and snow culture.
More than 8,000 spectators at the Harbin International Conference, Exhibition and Sports Center erupted in cheers when Xi officially declared the Games open in the presence of distinguished guests, including International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
The highlight of the opening ceremony was the lighting of the lilac-shaped cauldron at the next venue, Harbin Ice and Snow World, the largest ice and snow theme park in the world. The fire was jointly lit by four famous athletes: two-time Olympic champion and short track speed skater Yang Yang, China's first male Olympic freestyle skiing champion Han Xiaopeng, Olympic walking champion Wang Zhen and Sochi Winter Olympics speed skating champion Zhang Hong. They were accompanied by children holding ice lanterns.
Harbin Games, held from 7 to 14 February under the motto "Dream of Winter, Love among Asia", represent the next major international winter sporting event hosted by China after the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. It is also the third time China has hosted the Asian Winter Games, following Harbin 1996 and Changchun 2007.
A record 34 countries and regions are competing in Harbin 2025, surpassing the highest number of participants to date of 8. Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan in 2017. More than 1,200 athletes are taking part in the ice events in Harbin and snow events in Yabuli, breaking the previous record of 1,147 participants from Sapporo.
The Chinese flag was carried by star speed skater Ning Zhongyan and skier Liu Mengting, who made history by winning the big air jump at the FIS Freeski World Cup in January, during the ceremonial parade of athletes, accompanied by thunderous cheers from the audience.
The Chinese team has 257 members, including 170 athletes. Among them are five Beijing 2022 Olympic champions - Xu Mengtao, Qi Guangpu, Gao Tingyu, Fan Kexin and Liu Shaoang. A total of 85 men and 85 women will compete in 64 events across six sports.
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