[Olympics] A Small Torch Blooming on Snowflakes... Pointing to Humanity's New Progress

2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony Held Simply
'Together for a Shared Future' Theme Fully Conveyed...Expressing a Community of Shared Destiny with Childlike Innocence
The Smallest Torch in History...Demonstrating Commitment to Low Carbon and Environmental Protection

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The National Stadium in Beijing, China, has been transformed into a place wishing for harmony and peace between generations. The spark of hope was ignited by snowflakes created from children's innocence.

The "Great Festival of Snow and Ice Sports," the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, opened on the 4th at the Beijing National Stadium. About 2,900 athletes from 91 countries will compete for 109 gold medals across seven events until the 20th. The Beijing National Stadium, where the opening ceremony was held, was also the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies, athletics, and football matches of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The opening ceremony 14 years ago was grand and magnificent enough to be compared to the "Manhan Quanshi (滿漢全席)," a feast carefully selected from the Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong's era. The number of performers reached 15,000. This opening ceremony was different. Due to the spread of COVID-19, the duration was reduced from four hours to 100 minutes, and the number of performers was limited to 4,000.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Although the scale was simplified, the opening ceremony theme of "Together for a Shared Future" was fully conveyed. Zhang Yimou, a great Chinese film director who also directed the 2008 Summer Olympics, effectively highlighted the ideology and culture of the Winter Olympics by emphasizing children's innocence. The highlight was the "Snowflake" performance expressing miracles with snowflakes. Children connected snowflake-shaped placards representing the delegations of 91 countries to form a large snowflake in the shape of an olive branch. It was the cauldron symbolizing the community of shared future for mankind.

The torch was passed sequentially from Zhao Weichang, a Chinese speed skating hero born in the 1950s, to Li Yan, a short track hero from the 1960s, Yang Yang A, a short track hero from the 1970s, Su Bingtian, a track and field athlete from the 1980s, and Zhou Yang, a short track star from the 1990s, finally reaching the 2001-born same-age athletes Dinigul Iramuzhang (cross-country skiing) and Zhau Zayuan (Nordic combined). The two athletes took a lift and ascended through the snowflakes, placing the torch directly into the sculpture. It was the smallest cauldron in history. Riding the snowflake, it rose to the sky, illuminating the hearts of people worldwide.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The modest but meaningful lighting and cauldron embody the will to pass on the one and only Earth to future generations clean and beautiful. Director Zhang Yimou said in an earlier interview with local media, "This lighting method and cauldron will be a revolutionary approach never seen in Olympic history," adding, "We made the boldest design and transformation to practice the low-carbon and environmental protection ideology." Traditional cauldrons require a continuous supply of a considerable amount of gas to keep burning throughout the event. This cauldron does not need that. Although the smallest in scale in history, it points to a new leap forward for humanity.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.