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The 19th Hangzhou Asian Games has officially kicked off. The 16-day event kicked off with the Opening Ceremony at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday.The Asian celebration returns five years after the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, which were postponed for a year due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in China. It is the third Asian Games to be held in China, following Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.

The Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, where the opening ceremony was held, is also known as the Big Lotus. It consists of 28 large lotus petals and 27 small lotus petal-shaped structures. The design was inspired by the waves of the Qiantan River and Hangzhou's silk. The theme of the opening ceremony was "Tides surging in Asia.

Rain throughout the day leading up to the Opening Ceremony raised the possibility of using the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center's indoor basketball court as an alternative venue, but the rain stopped before the ceremony and the event went ahead as planned. The temperature around the opening ceremony site was a cool 24 degrees, which is typical of fall weather. Traffic control was tight. Traffic around the venue was closed from 7 a.m. on the 23rd until the opening ceremony ended. The nearby Expo Center subway station was also suspended from 6am to 10pm.

Two minutes before the opening ceremony was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. local time, a roar went up from the audience as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mrs. Peng Liyuan made their entrance. The opening performance, which began with a countdown, mesmerized the audience with colorful scenes based on the theme of "Water in Autumn Glow," which were displayed on a screen suspended in the air above the opening ceremony venue. With the raising of the Oh Sung Hong flag, the entrance of the athletes began.

The Korean team was the 16th of 45 nations to enter the competition. With the exception of hosts China, they were ordered in alphabetical order. Korea was led by fencer Koo Bon-gil and swimmer Kim Seo-young as co-flag bearers. Koo is also the male captain of the Korean team at the Games, while Kim Seo-young is the female captain. The athletes waved the Korean flag with bright faces, etching the festive moment into their memories. Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, who attended the opening ceremony, also encouraged the athletes with applause. South Korea has sent a record 1140 athletes (867 athletes and 273 officials) to the Games. They are aiming for 50 gold medals and third place overall.

North Korea was the seventh country to enter. The flag bearers were Park Myong-won for men's shooting and Bang Chul-mi for women's boxing. The excitement of the opening ceremony reached a fever pitch when the host nation, China, was the 45th to enter. A "digital fireworks display" was shown on the screen as President Xi declared the opening ceremony. China's men's badminton Zheng Shuwei, women's table tennis Sun Yingshaga, track and field Yang Zhongmin and shooting Gao Zhaoqi were then sworn in as representatives of the officials. This was followed by a gala show showcasing China's past, present and future.

The highlight was the torch lighting. As pre-announced by the organizers, the last runner, Chinese national swimmer Wang Xun, accepted the torch and was accompanied by a digital representation of the torchbearer on the screen. This was joined by more than 100 million digital torchbearers, creating a virtual and real-life ignition that will light up Hangzhou for 16 days. The Games' theme song, "The Love We share," echoed through the venue, ending the two-hour opening ceremony.



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