Focus on Arts and Ecology

And the Winter Olympic Games are on! 

The opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games was held at the National Stadium in Beijing on Friday night.

Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the Winter Games open after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach delivered a speech.

"This Year of the Tiger is also an Olympic Year," Bach said. "Both the Year of the Tiger and the Olympic Tiger stands for ambition, courage, and strength."

"Together for a Shared Future."

That's the motto!

The Beijing Winter Olympics features 109 events in 15 disciplines across seven sports. It will take place from February 4 to 20 in three competition zones in downtown Beijing, Beijing's northwest suburban district of Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou in neighboring Hebei Province.

Here are some glimpses from the opening ceremony:

Ahead of his visit to China to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an exclusive interview to Shen Haixiong, president and editor-in-chief of the China Media Group.
 

• World leaders and heads of international organizations have extended Spring Festival greetings to the Chinese people and conveyed their wishes that the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics would be a success
• Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing for the Winter Olympics on February 4. It has been more than two years since his last visit to China. This trip marks the 38th meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Russian president since 2013. 
• What are some of the cutting-edge technologies used in the opening ceremony?
• In their first competitive event, Team China's Fan Suyuan and Ling Zhi beat Swiss pair Martin Rios and Jenny Perret 7-6 in the opening round of the mixed doubles curling
• Jackie Chan recited the Beijing Olympics slogan "Together for a Shared Future" with children who participated in a show at the Badaling torch relay point.
• Ski jumping, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, and curling events, take a look at some of these sports
• Zhang Zhenghao, a young man born in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has been appointed as a judge for the alpine skiing events at the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics
• Want to know what it feels like to ride a luge track? Watch the video and let us know! 

For an immersive look at what to expect during the competition, CGTN goes on a journey around the facilities, through the use of augmented reality technology.

Hosting a global event of this magnitude – and during a pandemic – is no easy feat. Tens of thousands of people are in Beijing for the Olympics. CGTN’s Gerald Tan reports The Gist on some of the main facts and figures.

Follow our Beijing Winter Olympics stories at CGTN America. 

(Sources: China Report)