The opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games was held in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, on Saturday night.

In the lotus-shaped Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, the charm of the ancient Liangzhu culture dating from about 5,300-4,500 years ago and the Song-dynasty culture blended with modern technology, staging an audio-visual feast. 

As dancers in traditional Chinese costumes danced on the virtual river waves, ancient Chinese landscape paintings leaped onto the screen through naked-eye 3D visual effects, as if taking the audience back thousands of years.

When the lights changed from dark to bright, a visual of the Gongchen Bridge, which stretches across the eastern and western banks of the Grand Canal in the city, appeared on the stage. People from modern times stood on the bridge, and those from ancient times were on the boat. The visual showed people from the two eras looking at each other, connecting ancient and modern times through one bridge.

A double aerial dance was one of the most exciting performances of the night. The two dancers flew from one side of the stadium to the other, from the ground to the air, and even to every corner through wires, breaking through the limitation that can only be applied to traditional small scenes and was applied to a large-scale stadium for the first time.

Basketball, football and volleyball appeared at the same time in the air in the stadium by using the mesmerizing combination of naked-eye 3D visual effects, augmented reality (AR) effects and other effects, arousing everyone's anticipation for the upcoming sports competitions.

In addition to visual entertainment, there was also aromatic delight. When the theme song played, the entire stadium was filled with the fragrance of osmanthus flowers, embracing the grand event held this autumn.