The

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several event ...

opening ceremony officially began at 8:00pm

China Standard Time The time in China follows a single standard time offset of UTC+08:00 (eight hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time), even though the country spans almost five geographical time zones. The official national standard time is called ''Beijing ...

(

UTC+8 UTC+08:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +08:00. With an estimated population of 1.708 billion living within the time zone, roughly 24% of the world population, it is the most populous time zone in the world, as well as a ...

) on November 12, 2010. The ceremony took place along the

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...

on Haixinsha Island, mark it the first time in history that the ceremony was held outside the stadium. In front of 30,000 spectators, it lasted four hours, featured about 6,000 performers, with at least 40,000 of

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

. The ceremony was

choreographed Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

by Chen Weiya (陈维亚), who was assistant director to

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the ''Bird's Nest''. It began at 20:00 China Standard Time ( UTC+08:00) on Friday, 8 August 2008, as the number 8 is considered to be auspicious. ...

and filmed by Guangzhou Asian Games Broadcasting (GAB).

Sequence of events

Pre-ceremonial events

Prior to the opening ceremony, athletes and officials from 45

National Olympic Committees A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Gam ...

(NOC) were paraded by boat around the Pearl River with distance of 9.3 km to showcase the

Cantonese culture Lingnan culture, or Cantonese culture, refers to the regional Chinese culture of the region of Lingnan: twin provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi, the names of which mean "eastern expanse" and "western expanse" respectively. Strictly speaking, t ...

Welcoming ceremony

After the countdown, the opening began with firework displays at

Canton Tower The Canton Tower (), formally Guangzhou TV Astronomical and Sightseeing Tower (), is a -tall multipurpose observation tower in the Haizhu District of Guangzhou ( alternatively romanized as ''Canton''). The tower was topped out in 2009 and it ...

and around Haixinsha Island. Afterwards eight PLAGF Honor Guard Soldiers received the

flag of the People's Republic of China The National Flag of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Five-star Red Flag, is a Chinese red field with five golden stars charged at the canton. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in an arc set off to ...

from two children who then unfurled and raised it up, accompanied by the national anthem

March of the Volunteers The "March of the Volunteers" (), originally titled the "March of the Anti-Manchukuo Counter-Japan Volunteers", has been the official national anthem of the People's Republic of China since 1978. Unlike previous Chinese state anthems, it wa ...

Artistic section

The artistic section, dubbed "Sailing" began at 8:06pm. The beginning saw a drop of water shown on eight giant retractable screens followed by a boy sat in a giant leaf slowly descending from the sky. By this time the centre stage was flooded with water and the men on horseback rode onto the arena. The next portion "Water of the Earth" saw dancers perform and form a series of flowers. Initially five smaller flowers were formed before eventually the performers came together to form one big flower bloom. Children dancers then came out with lanterns followed by neon light dancers. Afterwards the segment "The Ship in the Ocean" saw two main dancers perform in the centre stage along with others in the background. A giant expedition boat then entered the stage with dancers acting as waves in an intense storm. The boat measured 28.8 metres long, 8 metres wide and 18 metres high. The boat then reached its destination. In the penultimate segment, which was known as "Sail of the White Cloud", Chinese pianist

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with leading orchestras in China, North America, Europe, and elsewhere. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, ...

opened with song "Light". The song was sung by Zhang Ziyi and written by lyricist

Albert Leung Albert Leung (born 7 December 1961, ) is a lyricist and writer based in Hong Kong. Education Leung attended all-boy secondary schools at Chan Sui Ki (La Salle) College and La Salle College. He received a bachelor of arts in translation from th ...

and composer Li Hai-ying (李海鹰). 180 dancers twirled in the air and converged on the water. Watercraft riders then created a series of water displays. High wire performers then put up a series of acts in front of the giant screens to form waves, seesaws, smiley faces, birds and other shapes. Before going into the final segment, a one-minute segment known as the "Green Minute" showed people from each district of Guangzhou bring pots of plants to display, displaying Guangzhou as a green city. The last segment known as "Invitation from the City of Flowers" started with a stage full of drummers. A group of hostesses joined the performance. China's Wei Wei, Tang Jing (谭晶),

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

Joey Yung Joey Yung (, ; born 16 June 1980) is a Hong Kong singer and Cantopop diva signed to Emperor Entertainment Group. Since her debut in 1996, Yung has won numerous awards, including the JSG Most Popular Female Singer and Ultimate Best Female ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

's David Tao and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Kim Hyun Joong Kim Hyun-joong (; born June 6, 1986) is a South Korean actor, singer and songwriter. He is a member of the boy band SS501 and played roles in the Korean dramas ''Boys Over Flowers'' and ''Playful Kiss''. After debuting with SS501 in 2005, Kim ...

performed the games' official song "Sunshine Again". The cauldron was then reveal when it emerged from the ground as a giant flame cauldron tower. Fireworks then lit up the area, followed by watercraft and boat exhibitions.

Parade of Nations

All athletes and officials from 44

and Kuwait entered the site in English alphabetical order as per Olympic Council of Asia protocol with the host country entering last. Due to the

NOC A network on a chip or network-on-chip (NoC or )This article uses the convention that "NoC" is pronounced . Therefore, it uses the convention "a" for the indefinite article corresponding to NoC ("a NoC"). Other sources may pronounce it as an ...

suspension, Kuwaiti athletes entered the site as the penultimate team under the

Olympic flag The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used througho ...

with the banner " Athletes from Kuwait". Each NOC was led by a national

flagbearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

. During the parade of the NOCs, a local song from each country was played when the country marched to the arena. Whilst most countries entered under their short names, a few entered under more formal or alternative names, sometimes due to political disputes.

(Republic of China) entered with the compromised name and

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

of "Chinese Taipei" under T. Unlike last edition's opening ceremony, the two Korea's marched separately from each other.

entered as "Republic of Korea" under K, while

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

entered as "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" under D. The formal English names of North Korea, South Korea, and Laos were abbreviated on the placards, but announced in full. Below is list of national flagbearer during the ceremony.

Speeches

A few people gave welcoming speech, they were: #

Huang Huahua Huang Huahua (born October 1946 in Xingning, Guangdong) is a retired Chinese politician, and the Governor of Guangdong between 2003 and 2011. Of Hakka heritage, he was once the mayor of Meizhou. Biography Huang was born in Xingning County, ...

– Executive President of Guangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (GAGOC),

Governor of Guangdong The Politics of Guangdong follows a dual party-government system like the rest of China's provinces. Guangdong is known for a surge of legislative activism in recent years, often called the Guangdong Phenomenon (''Guangdong Xianxiang''). The Guang ...

#Liu Peng (刘鹏) – President of GAGOC, President of

Chinese Olympic Committee The Chinese Olympic Committee (; IOC code: CHN) has been the officially designated body of the People's Republic of China (PRC) regarding the Olympic Games and other affiliated international sport federations since 1979, when the Nagoya Resol ...

(COC) #Sheikh

Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ( ar, احمد الفهد الاحمد الجابر الصباح; born 12 August 1963), also known as Ahmad Al-Fahad, is a Kuwaiti politician and sports administrator who is the former president o ...

– President of

Olympic Council of Asia The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. The current Acting President is Raja Randhir Singh, substituting Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah. The headquarters ...

(OCA) Afterwards,

Premier of the People's Republic of China The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...

Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic polic ...

declared the Games to be officially open, making him the first and as of 2018 only non-head of state to open the Asian Games. It was followed was a large scale of fireworks erupt from the Canton Tower and Pearl River delta once again.

Sun Nan Sun Nan (; born February 18, 1969) is a pop singer from Dalian in mainland China. His songs include "Be there or Be Square", "The Wind Goes to North", "Save", and his song for the 2008 Summer Olympics, "Forever Friends". Sun's album ''Crescent ...

and

Mao Amin Mao Amin ( born 1962)Zu-yan Chen, Robert Daly, and Hong Zhang, ''Chinese Through Song'' (2001)1994 is a Chinese singer known by the " honorific title" of Dajieda ("Big Sister"), "was one of China's most famous and senior female pop stars" by "the ...

then performed the official theme song "Reunion" ( zh, c=重逢, p=Chóngféng), and flag of OCA was carried in by eight athletes. The eight athletes who carried in the flag were: # Li Xiaopeng (李小鹏) –

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

#Yang Boyong (杨伯镛) –

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach #

Meng Guanliang Meng Guanliang (, born January 24, 1977, in Shaoxing, Zhejiang) is a Chinese former flatwater canoeist who has competed since 1998, the gold medalists at two Olympic Games, he won the Canadian canoe C-2 500 m gold medal both in 2004 and 2008 ...

(孟关良) – canoer #Huang Jiangang (黄建刚) – wushu # Wang Liping (王丽萍) –

race walker Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asse ...

#Lu Yuansheng (陆元盛) –

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

Gao Ling Gao Ling (; born 14 March 1979) is a Chinese former badminton player. Career Noted for her consistency, anticipation, forecourt prowess, and sporting smile, Gao is one of the most successful doubles players in the history of women's badminton. ...

(高崚) –

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

player #

Jia Zhanbo Jia Zhanbo (; born 15 March 1974) is a Chinese sports shooter. He competed at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics in two 50 m small-bore rifle events, prone and three positions, and won the three positions event in 2004.shooter Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...

As flag of the OCA was raised, the official anthem of OCA was played.

Fu Haifeng Fu Haifeng (born 23 August 1983) is a Chinese former badminton player. He is regarded as one of the greatest men's doubles players of all time. Sport career Combining Fu Haifeng's impressive power with his regular partner Cai Yun's impressive ...

took the athlete's oath while gymnastics referee, Yan Ninan took the judge's oath.

Lighting ceremony

In the closing stages,

dragon boat A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family of ...

team leader Wu Guochong (吴国冲) carried the torch through the Pearl River into the stage. The torch was relayed by three athletes, before being passed to the final torchbearer. The three were: #

Chen Yibing Chen Yibing (; born 19 December 1984 in Tianjin) is a Chinese gymnast, a four-time world champion on still rings. Chen was part of the Chinese team that won the gold medal in the team event at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 20 ...

(陈一冰) – 2008 Olympic gold medalist gymnast # Rong Zhixing (容志行) – ex-footballer #

Deng Yaping Deng Yaping (; born February 6, 1973) is a Chinese table tennis player, who won eighteen world championships including four Olympic championships between 1989 and 1997. She is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. ...

(邓亚萍) – Olympic gold medalist table tennis The final torchbearer, Olympic gold medalist diver

He Chong He Chong (; born June 10, 1987 in Zhanjiang, Guangdong) is a Chinese diver. He is the 2008 Olympic Champion in the 3m springboard. He split with partner Wang Feng after they won a gold medal in the 3m synchronised springboard event at the 20 ...

(何冲) was accompanied by two children, Xiong Yuxiang (熊钰翔) and daughter of director, Chen Jiayu (陈佳雨). The trio used the flame to light the fuse of a traditional Chinese firecraker that produced an explosion which ignited the cauldron tower directly above it.

Song Zuying Song Zuying (; born August 13, 1966) is a Chinese classical/folk singer. Early life Song was born in Guzhang County, part of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan. She is of Miao ethnicity, and studied at the Department of Music a ...

(宋祖英) then performed the song "Smile" ( zh, c=微笑, p=Wéixiào). Fireworks were set off in the air and around the arena to conclude the opening ceremony.

References

External links

Official website: opening & closing ceremonies
{{Asian Games ceremonies 2010 Asian Games Asian Games opening ceremonies Ceremonies in China