Harbin hosts Asian Winter Games for second time after 29 years

The cauldron was ignited at the opening ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on Friday night.

Joined by children holding ice lanterns, China's first Winter Olympic champion and short track speed skater Yang Yang, the country's first men's Winter Olympic gold medalist and freestyle skier Han Xiaopeng, Olympic race walk champion Wang Zhen, and 2014 Winter Olympic speed skating champion Zhang Hong lit the cauldron in a shape of a blooming lilac flower at the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the world's largest ice-and-snow theme park.

The flame for the Games was lit at the Sun Island Scenic Area in Harbin on January 20. The torch relay involved 120 torchbearers on a route featuring landmarks in the city, including Harbin Central Street, which has a history of more than 100 years, and the Songhua River.

The athletes' parade took place in alphabetical order of the participating delegations and the hosts entered last. Star speed skater Ning Zhongyan and young freeskier Liu Mengting carried the flag for China.

Over 1,200 athletes from 34 countries and regions across Asia will compete in the Games, making this edition the largest in terms of participating delegations and athletes. Teams like Cambodia and Saudi Arabia are set to make their debuts at the program.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach attended the opening ceremony. He believes that the program will exceed expectations.

"I'm here in the traditional winter sport center of China and see the great development over the last six years, knowing about the expertise of the people of Harbin and of China, organizing great sporting events. So the expectations are very high. As I know, China will even exceed these high expectations," Bach said.

It is the second time for Harbin to host the Asian Winter Games, after doing so for the tournament's third edition in 1996.