In the center of a huge snowflake with names of the participating countries, a much smaller Olympic flame than usual burns in Beijing's Bird's Nest. 

Such flame downsizing, or a torch-placing action to be more exact, has been described as "a breakthrough in the history of the Olympics" by the ceremony's directing team. 

On the night of February 4, the two final torchbearers ran up and placed the torch they held inside an unusual cauldron of a large snowflake platform consisting of some 90 small flakes with the names of all the participating countries.

"The torch itself is the flame," said chief director Zhang Yimou, who also directed the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games' opening and closing ceremonies.

If taking the Beijing 2008 mode, the Beijing 2022's cauldron would have emitted a considerably huge amount of carbon dioxide as it has to be remain lit for over a month – from the opening of the Winter Olympics to the closing of the Winter Paralympics. 

After marathon negotiations with the International Olympic Committee amid the COVID-19 travel limitations, the plan to use a small flame was approved.

In this way, the total carbon emitted is estimated to be only one 5000ths of the amount at the 2008 Games. 

"Whether you like it or not, it clearly states a low-carbon and environmental protection concept," Zhang said. "If you want to do some low-carbon environmental protection experiment, you should refer to the Beijing Winter Olympics."