Chinese national flag raised in the Olympic Village

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The Chinese delegation held its flag-raising ceremony at Gangneung Olympic Village on Wednesday, two days before the start of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

The delegation, headed by Gou Zhongwen, sent about 60 people from figure skating, short track speed skating and speed skating to attend the ceremony.

The flag of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is raised during the Team Welcome Ceremony for Chinese delegation in Gangneung Olympic Village ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, South Korea, Feb. 7, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

"China sent a 181-member team, including 82 athletes, which is the biggest Chinese delegation since the Vancouver Games," said Gao Zhidan, deputy Chef de Mission.

As a summer sports power though, China had not won a Winter Olympic gold until the Salt Lake City Games in 2002.

Chinese delegation enter the venue of the Team Welcome Ceremony in Gangneung Olympic Village ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, South Korea, Feb. 7, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

Gao said Chinese athletes "came to learn" in PyeongChang, but stopped short of disclosing anything regarding China's medal expectations.

"After Beijing's successful bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, more and more athletes from summer sports have switched to winter, and they have been training very hard in snow sports," he added.

Short track speed skater Zhou Yang has been named China's flag-bearer in the PyeongChang Games opening ceremony. She won the women's 1,500m in both Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014.

Chinese delegation enter the venue of the Team Welcome Ceremony in Gangneung Olympic Village ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, South Korea, Feb. 7, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

"It's an honor to become the flag-bearer at the PyeongChang Games. It's my third Olympic Games," she said.

"It also means responsibility. The experience as a flag-bearer will definitely boost my confidence in competition."

Nine out of the 12 China's Winter Olympic gold medals have come from short track speed skating. At the Sochi Games, China brought home two gold－both from women－and three silver medals.

Mayor of Gangneung Olympic Village Kim Ki-hoon unveils the gifts for Chinese delegation during the Team Welcome Ceremony in Gangneung Olympic Village, Feb. 7, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

Short track skater Wu Dajing, two-time 500m World Cup series winner, said that he was looking forward to the competition.

"I enjoyed life in the village and I have met some of my major opponents. They are also now old friends," said the silver medalist in the Sochi Games.

"For me, the Winter Olympic competition is just the same with the World Cup series and the Worlds Championships. The opponents are the same, and the competition format is also the same. So, just relax," he added.

Chinese delegation enter the venue of the Team Welcome Ceremony in Gangneung Olympic Village, Feb. 7, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

After the flag-raising ceremony, the PyeongChang Olympics organizers arranged a welcome performance featuring a mixture of Korean traditional dance and modern hip-hop.

The Chinese athletes will compete in 55 medal events in 12 disciplines over five sports at the Olympics, which is set to begin on Feb. 9.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency