9th Asian Winter Games begin in northeast China

ISTANBUL

The 9th Asian Winter Games in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin officially began with an opening ceremony on Friday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the Asian Winter Games, with the slogan of "Dream of Winter, Love among Asia," in the northeastern Heilongjiang province, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Some 1,300 athletes are participating from 34 countries and regions, including North Korea, Japan, and South Korea, surpassing the last games’ participant numbers in 2017 in Sapporo, Japan.

At the opening ceremony, four torchbearers, accompanied by children holding ice lanterns, ignited a lilac-shaped cauldron at Harbin Ice and Snow World, the world's largest ice and snow theme park.

The competition, held every four years, will take place from Feb. 7 to 14.

Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach were among the foreign guests attending the opening ceremony.

This is China’s third time hosting the Asian Winter Games.

ISTANBUL

The 9th Asian Winter Games in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin officially began with an opening ceremony on Friday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the Asian Winter Games, with the slogan of "Dream of Winter, Love among Asia," in the northeastern Heilongjiang province, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Some 1,300 athletes are participating from 34 countries and regions, including North Korea, Japan, and South Korea, surpassing the last games’ participant numbers in 2017 in Sapporo, Japan.

At the opening ceremony, four torchbearers, accompanied by children holding ice lanterns, ignited a lilac-shaped cauldron at Harbin Ice and Snow World, the world's largest ice and snow theme park.

The competition, held every four years, will take place from Feb. 7 to 14.

This is China’s third time hosting the Asian Winter Games.