Documentaries add artistic elements to 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou

China Media Group (CMG) began shooting its multilingual documentary “Hangzhou: from the past into the future” in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, on Saturday. Meanwhile, the official documentary of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, “Hi, Asian Games,” was launched on the same day as well.

Shen Haixiong, vice minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and president of CMG; Wang Hao, governor of Zhejiang Province and commander-in-chief of the Command of Hangzhou Asian Games; Liu Jie, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and secretary of the CPC Hangzhou Committee; and Zhao Cheng, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Zhejiang Committee and head of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee Publicity Department, attended the ceremony.

In his speech at the ceremony, Shen said that CMG has been working hard to implement the instructions of Chinese President Xi Jinping on hosting a marvelous Asian Games in Hangzhou as well as in preparing the broadcasting of the Asian Games. CMG will not only focus the camera on the competitions of the top sports stage in Asia but also build a series of top-notch programs to display the cultural highlights of the Asian Games as an exciting feast of cultural exchange in Asia.

The year 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the implementation of the “double-eight strategy,” a developmental model proposed by Xi in 2003 when he was CPC secretary of Zhejiang, in which he noted eight advantages of the province and corresponding actions for each. Zhao pointed out that Zhejiang has achieved rapid and solid development in the past 20 years thanks to this strategy. Hangzhou, as the capital city of Zhejiang, is ready to present a splendid combination of sports and civilizations to the world in the 19th Asian Games.

“Hangzhou: from the past into the future” is a documentary about Hangzhou’s cultural depth, scientific innovation and the concept of green development in the eyes of both Chinese and foreign citizens living in the city. It collects various stories about how Hangzhou combines old traditions with modern development, how history clashes with the future and how human society interacts with nature. The documentary will be launched in 68 languages by CMG.

“Hi, Asian Games” is about the 70+ years of development of the quadrennial event. Not only will it show the beauty of power in sports, but it will also explore the human elements behind the scenes to promote understanding and recognition among countries and nations in Asia. The documentary will be aired first on CMG’s sports channel CCTV-5 from September 16 to 19 and then on CMG’s Olympic Channel CCTV-16 from September 18 to 21.

(Cover photo: The shooting of China Media Group’s multilingual documentary “Hangzhou: from the past into the future” begins in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, September 16, 2023. /CMG)