January 20, Beijing Tiananmen Square, winter Olympic landscape theme flower beds in the snow. On the same day, Beijing ushered in the first snowfall of the year. China News Service reporter Yi Haifei photographed
BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- As the Pace of the Beijing Winter Olympics draws nearer, China is ready to once again dedicate an unparalleled Olympic event. At the same time, the Spring Festival, the traditional festival that Chinese attaches the greatest importance to, has arrived. The modern Olympic movement and the ancient Chinese festival meet in the land of China, which will create a different spark.
Unity and reunion
According to the schedule, the curling event of the Beijing Winter Olympics will take the lead on February 2, thus opening the curtain on the entire Winter Olympic Games, and this day is the second day of the Lunar New Year. On the fourth day of the Chinese New Year, the Beijing Winter Olympics will officially kick off at the Bird's Nest and close on February 20.
According to Chinese custom, "the first month is a year", which means that the entire duration of the Beijing Winter Olympics will "perfectly coincide" with the Chinese New Year. Athletes, coaches and accompanying people from all over the world will feel the warm atmosphere of the Chinese New Year, which will be a new experience for many people.
On the evening of January 20, the flower beds of the "Wonderful Winter Olympics" Center in Beijing's Tiananmen Square were lit up, adding luster to the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Photo by China News Service reporter Hou Yu
For Chinese players, this will also be a special Winter Olympics. Since the previous Winter Olympic Games were often held close to China's Spring Festival, Chinese players often had to spend the New Year in a foreign country. This time, they will play at home in a completely different atmosphere.
Last July, the 138th Plenary Session of the International Olympic Committee voted to add "more solidarity" after the Olympic motto "Faster, Higher and Stronger", the first revision of the Olympic Motto in more than 100 years. As the name suggests, "more united" means that humanity needs solidarity and cooperation to withstand the great challenges facing the world today.
For Chinese, the Spring Festival means reunion, even if some people can't be reunited with their families, but at this time, their hearts are closely linked.
On the evening of January 20, the landscape of the "Ice and Snow Corridor" located on Wutasi Road in Haidian District, Beijing was illuminated, and citizens passed by the shape of the mascot of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, "Ice Pier", and the mascot of the Winter Paralympic Games, "Snow Rongrong". Photo by China News Service reporter Hou Yu
"Unity" and "reunion" have a common connotation this winter, and when strangers or familiar people unite and trust each other, they will undoubtedly erupt into a force stronger than the individual. In this winter, which is still shrouded in the shadow of the epidemic, they will come together to show humanity's determination to fight difficulties.
The Beijing Winter Olympics and this Spring Festival will become a special emotional bond between people.
Competition and culture
"As early as when we applied for the Winter Olympics, we designed the Spring Festival link to display traditional Chinese festival culture and New Year culture by holding the Winter Olympic Games." Yu Zaiqing, vice president of the International Olympic Committee and vice chairman of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Organizing Committee, once introduced it.
The Olympic Games are not only the highest level of competitive stages, but also a platform for various countries and regions to show their cultural connotations.
On the evening of August 8, 2008, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games was grandly opened at the National Stadium ("Bird's Nest"). Photo by Mao Jianjun, reporter of China News Service
Imagine the summer of 2008, the opening ceremony, the auspicious cloud pattern printed on the Olympic torch, and the Peking Opera soundtrack of women's free gymnastics have all shown the world the profound heritage and charm of traditional Chinese culture.
Now, the Beijing Winter Olympics will once again be an opportunity for China to show itself to the world. Among them, the Spring Festival will be an important content.
On January 12 this year, the Beijing Winter Olympics Licensed Commodities Festival opened. Many of these licensed goods can be seen at a glance with a strong Spring Festival atmosphere, such as the "Spring Festival in Beijing" series of badges, from purchasing New Year goods to wearing new clothes, eight badges recreate the various Spring Festival activities in Beijing.
On January 20th, the "Chinese knot" with strong Chinese style lit up the Wooden Bridge on Chang'an Avenue in Beijing. Photo by China News Service reporter Sheng Jiapeng
In addition, in key areas such as the extension of Chang'an Avenue in Beijing, Sanlitun and Guomao, traditional Chinese elements such as spring festival and folklore will be combined to create a characteristic landscape of the Winter Olympics.
With the arrival of the Spring Festival, the taste of venues and facilities related to the Winter Olympics is also getting stronger and stronger. Through the concept of Spring Festival, more people feel Chinese cherish their family affection and love for life, and learn about traditional Chinese culture such as calligraphy and paper cutting. Even people who are not particularly familiar with the Spring Festival can feel the charm of Chinese cuisine through a bowl of hot dumplings.
China and the world
The first day of the first lunar month is the first day of the Lunar New Year, because this day is similar to the first of the "twenty-four solar terms" compiled according to the agricultural season, "LiChun", Chinese regard this day as the day of "the beginning of the unity and the renewal of Vientiane".
On January 20, the urban landscape arrangement of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games was completed, and many landscapes lit up to add luster to the upcoming Winter Olympic games. The picture shows the "Green Winter Olympics" themed flower bed located in the northeast corner of Dongdan. Photo by Li Jun, a reporter from China News Network
The Spring Festival is a unique value symbol of the Chinese world, and with the globalization of economy and information, the Spring Festival is not only a Festival for the Chinese, but also affected by the Spring Festival culture in many places. This shows that China and the world are becoming more and more closely linked.
And in the field of sports, the same is true. In the development of winter projects in China, exchanges with foreign countries have always been an important driving force. In the national teams of some projects, foreign coaches can be seen, and there are also Chinese coaches who go abroad and coach overseas.
In 2008, the Olympic Games came to China for the first time, and the slogan of the Olympic Games was "Welcome to Beijing". Fourteen years later, Beijing is about to become the world's first "city of two Olympics", and the slogan of this Winter Olympics is "Together to the Future".
The picture shows a large-scale artistic landscape in the public area of the Olympic Park. China News Service reporter Zhang Yu photographed
Jiang Xiaoyu, vice president of the Beijing Olympic City Promotion Association, once explained, "The slogan of the 2008 Olympic Games expresses China's views on the world, but the slogan of the Beijing Winter Olympics goes a step further. It not only expresses China's views on the world, but also expresses our attitude and our strength, and puts forward our action plan, that is, 'together to the future'. ”
In the spring and autumn of the past 14 years, China has developed rapidly in all aspects. Chinese not only to welcome visitors from all over the world this Spring Festival, but also willing to join hands with people from all over the world on this day of family reunion and move towards the future together. (End)