Enthusiasm for Asian Games lit up as torch relay k.docx

EnthusiasmforAsianGameslitupastorchrelaykicksoffinHangzhouByMaZhenhuanUpdated:2023-09-0823:15fl11+TorchbearerYeJiaxingrunsinthetorchrelayofthe19thAsianGamesinHangzhou,capitalOfZhejiangprovince,onFriday.Therelay,inwhich106runnerstookpartonFriday,waslaunchedatYongjinParkSquareatthecity,siconicWestLake.HuangZongzhi/XinhuaHangzhou,themainhostcityofthe19thAsianGames,initiatedasymbolicbeginningtothegrandtournamentasitcommencedthecelebratorytorchrelayonFriday.Theflame,abeaconoffraternity,progress,unityandperseverance,isslatedtotravelthroughoutZhejiangprovince,andreturntoHangzhouonSept20forthefinalleg,culminatingintheignitingofthecaldronattheopeningceremonyonSept23.Vice-PremierDingXuexiang,amemberoftheStandingCommitteeofthePoliticalBureauoftheCommunistPartyofChinaCentralCommittee,litthetorchfromacaldronatthelaunchceremonynearHangzhou1SiconicWestLake,aUNESCOWorldHeritageSite,andannouncedthestartoftherelay.CollectedattheArchaeologicalRuinsofLiangzhuCity,anotherUNESCOWorldHeritageSiteinHangzhou,duringthe100-daycountdowntotheopeningofthesportingextravaganza,theflamewillhelpsowtheseedsoffriendship,progress,unityandendeavor,saidGaoZhidan,ministerofChina,sGeneralAdministrationofSportandpresidentoftheHangzhouAsianGamesOrganizingCommittee,attheceremony."The19thAsianGamesinHangzhouwillfullyshowcasethecourageandperseveranceoftheathletes,anddemonstratethegoodwilloftheAsianpeopleforpeace,friendshipandprogress,*'saidSongLuzeng,vice-presidentoftheOlympicCouncilofAsia.Atotalof2,022torchbearers,732ofwhomarewomen,fromdifferentAsiancountriesandregionswillpassonthetorchduringtherelay,accordingtotheorganizingcommittee.Theyoungesttorchbeareris14yearsoldandtheoldestis84yearsold.Thirtytorchbearerswerechosenthrougharandomdrawofpubliconlineapplicationsfromover5millionpeople,saidtheorganizingcommittee.1.argecrowdsgatheredalongtherouteoftherelayontheinauguralday,chantingnHangzhoujiayou!Yayunjiayou!"or"Comeon,Hangzhou!Comeon,AsianGames!",astheycheeredforeachtorchbearer.ChenXin,arunningenthusiastfromDalian,Liaoningprovince,cametotheWestLakeearlyinthemorning."Sportsarebeautiful,"shesaid."Ihopeeveryathletewillperformattheirbestduringthecompetition.,Atotalof106torchbearersranthefirstlegofthetorchrelayoveradistanceof5.2kilometers,includingOlympicswimminggoldmedalistLuoXuejuan,ParalympicswimmingchampionSongMaodangandChinesewomen'ssoccerstarWangShuang.Ahealthybodyisthefoundationforagoodeducation,"saidtorchbearerChenLiqun,aretiredhighschoolprincipalwhohaswonnumerousawardsandhonorsforhelpingpoorstudentsinremoteareas.Participatinginsportswillencouragechildrentodreambig,andmoreimportantly,tostrengthentheirwillpowertorealizethesedreams,hesaid."IhavetrulyfelttheanticipationandenthusiasmfortheAsianGamesfromtheHangzhoupeople,"saidOlympicshootingchampionYangQian,thelastrunneroftheday'srelay.Ihavealsofeltthepowerofthetorchrelay,'1addedYang,whowasquiteimpressedbythedesignofthetorch.Standingat730millimetershighandweighing1,200grams,thetorchtakesitsdesigncuesfromthe5,000-year-oldLiangzhuCulture.Thetorch,isanindicationthattheChinesecivilizationhasbeenpasseddownfromgenerationtogeneration",explainedWangYun,deanoftheIndustrialDesignandResearchInstituteattheChinaAcademyofArt.Foroverayear,Wanghasguidedateamfromtheinstitutetocompletethedesignofthetorch.Thetorchheadwasdesignedtoresembletheappearanceofacong,anancientChinesejadeartifact,withasquareoutersection,showingaharmonioussquare-roundintegration,andtheburnernozzletakesitsshapefromtheearliestoraclebonecharacterof"cong,whosemeaningis"lighttravelinginacycleinside.ThesurfacepatternsofthebodyofthetorchareinspiredbyspiralpatternshighlyvaluedintheLiangzhuCultureandareshapedlikefingerprints,naturallyintertwined.Atthebase,thetorchisembossedwitheight"waterveins",symbolizingtheevolutionofcivilizationaswellastheeightmajorriversystemsinZhejiang.Theoverallcontourandcurveofthetorchlooksasifahandisholdingit,explainedWang.Inaddition,thetorchincludessomeofthemostadvancedtechnologiesinordertocopewithbadweatherconditions.Multipletestshavebeenconductedonover3,000setsoftorches,saidanofficialfromthetorchrelaycommandcenteroftheHangzhouAsianGames,includingscenariossuchastyphoonsandheavyrainfall.Theflamecanwithstandgale-forcewinds,hesaid,andthetorchcanbelitevenundertheconditionsof300mmrainfallperhourwithouthavingtoworrythatitwillbeextinguished.