Hangzhou Asian Games marks 100-day countdown

The flame for the 19th Asian Games was ignited on Thursday at the Damojiao Mountain in the Liangzhu Ancient City Site Park of Hangzhou, a world cultural heritage site. In 100 days, the flame of the Asian Games will illuminate the banks of West Lake, and Hangzhou will welcome a grand sports event.

The flame was lit out of a concave mirror using the sun's rays before the flame box was ignited to indicate that the Asian Games flame was successfully ignited.

The successful collection of kindling marks the official start of the online torch relay for the Asian Games. In early September, the offline torch relay will take place in the 11 prefectural cities in Zhejiang.

The design of the torch for the Hangzhou Asian Games originates from the Liangzhu culture with its shape growing from bottom to top to gather in the top center image in all directions. In the form of a river of life, it symbolizes that athletes from all countries and regions gather in Hangzhou to participate in the golden age.

“It represents the source of the tide of the Qiantang River, this city, and also a spirit of Zhejiang's courage to stand at the forefront. This humanistic spirit is consistent with the positive and upward struggle of sports and athletes”, Yang Meng, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the Hangzhou Organizing Committee for Asian Games, said.

The Hangzhou Asian Games also released the first set of dynamic sports icons in the history of the Asian Games, with "rainbow rhyme purple" as the background color. The 61 sports icons continue the water visual design of the emblem. Athletes appear to be moving on fan-shaped water ripples, but when all the icons are connected together, it feels like a river flowing endlessly.

As an envoy to spread the Olympic spirit, peace and friendship, the mascots of the Hangzhou Asian Games, including Congcong, Chenchen, and Lianlian, have sent a warm invitation to Asia and the world.

“The creative source of our three mascots comes from the three major world heritage sites in Hangzhou. Among them, the "Congcong" represents Hangzhou, which is a demonstration of the 5000-year history of Chinese civilization in the Liangzhu Ancient City site."Chenchen" is the creative source of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and the word "Chen" is also taken from an ancient bridge "Gongchen Bridge" which has a history of nearly 400 years. Lianlian is a well-known symbol of West Lake, representing an endless view of lotus flower”, Yang Meng, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the Hangzhou Asian Organizing Committee, said.