Torch relay for the upcoming 19th Asian Games continued in Jinhua City of east China’s Zhejiang Province on Sunday, about 200 kilometers south of host city Hangzhou, also Zhejiang’s provincial capital.
Stretching a distance of 7.8 kilometers, the torch relay route passes through many of Jinhua’s landmarks, including an ancient bridge, an ancient citsite, a business district, and Jinhua Asian Games Sub-Village, showcasing Jinhua’s natural scenery and architecture.
A total of 170 torchbearers from all walks of life participated in the event, with Meng Guanliang, a two-time Olympic champion and the first Chinese athlete to win consecutive Olympic canoeing titles, leading the first leg.
The final torchbearer was Chen Meilan, a renowned performer of Wu Opera and a nationally recognized inheritor of intangible cultural heritage.
"I wish Wu Opera, which has a history of 500 years, to shine even more dazzlingly in the new era, just like today’s torch relay, with continuous relays," said Chen.
In addition, the city also organized rich performances and exhibitions along the torch relay route, including choir performances, demonstrations of intangible cultural heritage, Wu Opera, and street dance performances, showing the city’s enthusiasm for welcoming the Asian Games.
The flame is set to be relayed through 11 cities in Zhejiang Province, namely Huzhou, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Zhoushan, Taizhou, Wenzhou, Lishui, Jinhua and Quzhou, before returning to Hangzhou on Sept. 20, marking the completion of its final leg.
Scheduled to take place from Sept. 23 to Oct. 8, the 19th Asian Games will be hosted in Hangzhou, along with five other cities in Zhejiang Province, namely Ningbo, Wenzhou, Jinhua, Shaoxing, and Huzhou.
This grand sporting event will showcase a remarkable array of 40 sports, 61 disciplines, and 481 thrilling events, all set to unfold across 54 magnificent competition venues.
