New concept for opening ceremony proves a winner

The topic "the smallest Olympic flame" quickly went viral on social media after two young athletes placed their torch into the heart of a giant snowflake sculpture at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics on Friday.

Many people expressed surprise, comparing the scene with the cauldron being lit in 2008 for the Beijing Summer Olympics, which featured a huge flame burning lots of gas every hour.

Filmmaker Zhang Yimou, chief director of Friday's ceremony, said lighting the cauldron was his favorite part of the entire evening.

"It's bold and innovative to present such a tiny Olympic flame. It reflects China's promotion of a green and lowemission world," he said.

The giant snowflake comprised hundreds of smaller counterparts featuring the names of some 90 countries and regions participating in the Games. These small snowflakes were also used as placards by those leading the athletes' parade.

Zhang said the big snowflake signaled that "we're building a shared future together" as the world tackles the COVID-19 pandemic. The tiny flame meant the "fire of hope would last forever".

"We're not telling stories of China. Instead, we are telling a story of the world," he said, adding that the concept for Friday's ceremony was totally different to that used in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Zhang also directed the opening ceremony 14 years ago, when he gathered a cast of 15,000 to showcase China's 5,000-year history and its traditional culture.

"In 2008, we were eager to introduce China to the world, including who we are and how we got here," he said.

"Fourteen years later, with China now the second-largest economy and with the world becoming more familiar with the nation, it's time to show a modern China and tell the planet that 'we're together'," he added.

"This is a stage to show Chinese people's values. We are the same as everyone across the globe. We're friendly, sincere, romantic and hope that everyone in the world is well."

Ordinary stage

Some 3,000 people from many walks of life were invited to take part in the opening ceremony, which featured no stars or professional performers.

Asked whether she was nervous singing the Olympic anthem as the ceremony was broadcast worldwide, Han Shuxin, 6, a member of the Malanhua Choir, who only started to learn music in September, said she was not afraid to show her vocal talent.

The choir comprises 44 students from Fuping, Hebei province, a mountainous area lifted out of poverty two years ago.

The choristers, age 6 to 12, had no experience performing onstage. Their parents are farmers or migrant workers.

Liu Kai, a teacher in charge of the students, said they were selected from five village schools. Some of the schools were only able to provide music classes for the young choir members in September, when they started their training.

"Some of them could only sing simple children's songs when I first met them. After five months' training, they could sing the Olympic anthem in Greek," Liu said proudly.

Professional music teachers and language experts also visited the children over the past five months.

Liu said many of the children's parents had little knowledge of the Olympic Games, but merely thought that their offspring were receiving free instruction in music.

Some of the students walk hours to school from their homes in the mountains.

Singing at the opening ceremony in the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, was the first time many of them had visited the Chinese capital.

While waiting for their performance, Han, the 6-year-old, sat reading picture books with her fellow choristers.

She said she was eager to sing the anthem and return home with her parents.

The Winter Olympics opened during Spring Festival, a traditional time for Chinese to be with family members.

Liu said, "The opening ceremony gave many of these children the chance to perform on such a large stage."

The idea to invite children from a mountainous area came from Zhang, the director.

"China has helped many of its people out of poverty in the past few years. These children from the mountains are our future generation. We should introduce them to the world," he said.

Those aged from 5 to 25 accounted for more than 90 percent of the cast of 3,000 on Friday.

They are students from schools and universities in Beijing and Hebei, who began their musical and dance training in the autumn.

Zhang said that in 2008, when China was eager to show itself to the world, he dare not invite children who knew little about music to sing at the opening ceremony.

"Now, we don't care so much about whether they're the best singers, have good looks, or are in good shape," he said.

"We want the world to see ordinary young people and a modern China represented by them," he said.

Reduced cast

Compared with the opening ceremony in 2008, which also took place at the Bird's Nest, the number of cast members was significantly reduced this time due to the pandemic and cold weather.

Full use was made of high-technology to present an eye-catching spectacle.

Chang Yu, director of the opening and closing ceremonies department for the Beijing 2022 organizing committee, said: "China has invested a great deal in science and technology. With high-tech, we were able to stage a splendid show with a participating cast."

Light-emitting diode, or LED, screens covered a large area of the stadium floor.

As more than 600 children sang the theme song for Beijing 2022, they played with snowflakes projected on a screen under their feet. By using motion capture technology, the young singers interacted with the snowflakes, which changed shape and direction based on the children's movements.

Chang said, "As far as I know, it's the largest screen to provide motion capture technology for such a big group of performers."

Olympic rings made from ice rose from a huge frozen square about the height of a three-story building.

Reducing the weight of this structure to allow it to unfold easily posed a challenge to scientific experts, who carried out numerous experiments to find the right materials to produce the "ice rings".

"Raising the ice square (which was later sculpted into ice rings) was extremely complicated and involved lots of technology," Chang said.

He added that he had discussions with director Zhang about the concept for Friday's ceremony.

Chang said the opening ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympics told a good story about China's past, while the Winter Games presented a story for the future.

"It's about how Chinese people see the world, including how we should make efforts toward a shared future," he said.

Zhang repeated the word "relaxed" several times when talking about his preparations for the ceremony.

"I feel really relaxed this time because of my confidence in our culture and civilization. The whole team also feels this confidence," he said.