Green Asian Games: Fully showcase the beautiful ecological environment, low-carbon environmental protection and sustainable development of Hangzhou. The concepts of “green”, “low carbon”, “energy saving” and “environmental protection” will be fully integrated into the process of organizing the Asian Games to hold a “resource-efficient and environment-friendly” Asian Games.

The Hangzhou Asian Games torch

Users can now capture virtual flames of the Asian Games in a game to win prizes and cheer for the upcoming event.

Released on September 9, 2021, the game, called “Catch the Flame”, was one of the modules of the Smart Asian Games info platform, and part of the campaign to enable a “smart” Asian Games through the latest cutting-edge technologies. It is aimed to foster a completely different participation experience and increase the influence of the Asian Games, ultimately realizing a green, smart, economical and ethical Asian Games.

Indeed, “smart” is one of most talked-about features for the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou. From the very beginning, the HAGOC hoped to maximize the marginal value of the Asian Games through the internet and run a “smarter” Asian Games through Hangzhou’s vast internet platforms and networks.

To this end, the Smart Asian Games info platform was developed, the first one-stop digital viewing service platform in the history of international sporting event, which covers ticket, food, accommodation, transportation, tourism and shopping, with over 10 million registered users and 700,000 daily visitors.

“Catch the Flame” is an integrated game introduced by the Smart Asian Games info platform, with the virtual Asian Games flame as reward. It employed multimedia, 3D modeling, scene fusion and other new technologies and superimposed the computer-generated virtual object — the Asian Games flame — onto real objects. Search “Asian Games” on Alipay, enter “Smart Asian Games info platform”, open “Catch the Flame”, find the locations according to the map icon, move your mobile phone around within 500 meters of the flames, and then click the screen, users will easily capture the flame through scanning, walking, moving and a variety of others ways.

The flames that users have obtained not only can be used for charity and public service — for example, as donation for football schools to help youth football development, they can also be used lucky draws to win the Asian Games souvenirs. Moreover, users can exchange them for Asian Games merchandise on an online store aptly titled “Flame Store”.

Relying on the rapid development of digital economy in Hangzhou and throughout Zhejiang province, the HAGOC has made “smart” as one of the central ideas of running the Asian Games. It intends to comprehensively apply all kinds of high and new technologies to the following ten fields, including smart command, smart security, smart transportation, innovative technology application, and strives to make the games a most memorable event with “Chinese style, Zhejiang glamor and Hangzhou flavor”.

The design for the Hangzhou Asian Games torch

The Hangzhou Asian Games will apply blockchain technology in ticketing, torch relay, financial supervision, licensed digital goods, among other aspects. At the same time, the world’s first “blockchain torch relay” will be launched via the Smart Asian Games info platform so that everyone could have the chance to be a torchbearer of the Asian Games.

Indeed, during the event, the Smart Asian Games info platform will provide visitors with 18 one-stop intelligent services, including transportation, ticket purchasing, accommodation, tourism, public welfare and so on. The HAGOC will set up about 100 service outlets in Hangzhou and the other five co-host cities, as well as in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Urumqi, with smart payment services fully installed to allow spectators to watch the competitions more conveniently.

In addition, the Hangzhou Asian Games will also endeavor to become the first “Cloud Asian Games” — event management, event outcomes, event logistics as well as other core areas will feature intelligent cloud technology. Nearly 10,000 athletes, hundreds of thousands of staff, millions of attendees and hundreds of millions of spectators from 45 countries (regions) will participate in and watch the Asian Games with the support of Alibaba cloud technologies such as cloud computing, data intelligence, intelligent networking and mobile collaboration.

At present, an online official flagship store for the Hangzhou Asian Games has been opened, which is the first licensed merchandise retail store. The first batch of goods, with more than 60 types, include precious metals, badges, stationery, philatelic products, jewelry accessories, household necessities, among others.

The Hangzhou Asian Games is a major occasion to promote the digital reform of Zhejiang province, and a landmark achievement of building Zhejiang into an important window of China as well as a common prosperity demonstration area. Guided by digital reform and relying on the advantages of the digital economy in Zhejiang and Hangzhou, the HAGOC has been working assiduously for a “smart Asian Games”. Meanwhile, it is hoped that the event will provide new opportunities for high-tech industries to further develop a digital economy.

Editor: Huang Yan