The opening ceremony of the 15th National Games kicked off in Guangzhou on Sunday, in which Chinese President Xi Jinping attended.
The 75-minute ceremony -- themed "Realizing Dreams for the Future" -- started at 8pm in the Guangdong Olympic Sports Center to unfold in front of 80,000 spectators in an audiovisual feast celebrating the unity of the Greater Bay Area.
Hong Kong delegation, along with Guangdong and Macau's delegations, paraded into the Sports Center together as the three cities co-host this year's Games.
Hong Kong rower Chiu Hin-chun served as the Hong Kong delegation representative to carry the HKSAR regional flag into the venue.
Directed by renowned filmmaker Andrew Lau Wai-keung -- famed for the "Infernal Affairs" films -- the ceremony is structured into three chapters with a stunning lineup.
The artistic performance integrated traditional Lingnan culture -- such as lion dances and dragon boats -- with AI and VR technologies.
Cantonese opera singer and actress Elizabeth Wang Ming-chun also performed alongside mainland and Macau artists in the ceremony, while Hong Kong singers Joey Yung Tso-yi and Mike Tsang Pei-tak showcased regional talent, before Andy Lau Tak-wah closing the event with a rendition of the renowned song "Zhong Guo Ren."
Prior to the opening ceremony, Xi met with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Kirsty Coventry and IOC honorary president for life Thomas Bach at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center.
Xi noted that the Olympic spirit is an important part of human civilization, carries people's aspirations for a better world, and is highly consistent with China's vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity.
"Earlier this year, we gathered in Harbin for the Asian Winter Games when the city was covered in ice and snow," Xi said. "Today, we meet again in the warm, spring-like city of Guangzhou for the National Games. This speaks to the strong and close partnership between China and the IOC."
Xi also emphasized that the National Games are China's largest-scale and highest-level multi-sport event. He added that China will develop the GBA into a strategic underpinning for "China's new development paradigm, a demonstration area for high-quality development, and a pacesetter of Chinese modernization."
He expressed confidence that this year's National Games will showcase not only new sporting achievements in China's new era, but also the remarkable progress of Chinese modernization in the Greater Bay Area.
Xi also met with the representatives of national model units and individuals in mass sports and competitive sports ahead of the opening ceremony.
(Updated at 9:30pm)
