The official slogan of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games is "Heart to Heart, @Future".

Four-time Olympic diving gold medallist Guo Jingjing is among Hangzhou 2022's "dream ambassadors".

More than 52,000 volunteers will be needed for the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.

Every Hangzhou 2022 volunteer will be presented with a "little cyan box" containing a certificate, pin badges and stamps.

Ten companies have been named as prestige partners of Hangzhou 2022, including Alibaba Group.

The Hangzhou Olympic Center Stadium, the focal venue of the Games, is also known as the "Big Lotus".

Esports and breaking will make their Asian Games debuts at Hangzhou 2022.

Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang Province.

Hangzhou sits on the Qiantang River, which stretches for 285 miles and enters the Pacific in Hangzhou Bay.

Sister cities of Hangzhou around the world include Boston in the United States, Leeds in England, Nice in France, Cape Town in South Africa, Budapest in Hungary and Canberra in Australia

Hangzhou hosted the G20 Summit in 2016.

Hangzhou is one of China's "ancient capitals".

From 907, Hangzhou was the capital of Wuyue, a coastal Kingdom which lasted until 960.

A huge fire in 1237 destroyed nearly 30,000 buildings in Hangzhou.

Hangzhou was believed to be the largest city in the world by 1180.

Hangzhou was founded in the year 200 by the Qin Dynasty.

A city wall was first constructed in Hangzhou under the Sui Dynasty in 591.

Hangzhou is the southern endpoint of China's famous Grand Canal, a UNESCO Heritage Site.

Hangzhou's famous West Lake has been described as "a paradise on water or water in paradise".

West Lake in Hangzhou is a UNESCO Heritage Site.

Marco Polo described Hangzhou as "beyond dispute the finest and the noblest city in the world".

Hangzhou has been a famous producer of silk for centuries.

Hangzhou is famous for Longjing tea, which is considered to be among the finest in China.

The people in Hangzhou speak with their own distinct dialect.

A popular dish in Hangzhou is Dongpo pork - belly pork served in a thick gravy.

The China Academy of Art was founded in Hangzhou in 1928.

Opera is popular in Hangzhou and is performed in many theatres in the city.

Quyuan Garden in Hangzhou features 200 different species of lotus flowers.

Zhejiang Library in Hangzhou houses a collection of nearly 80,000 books.

Hangzhou is considered a superb place to view China's revered plum blossom.

Hangzhou is home to the first public bicycle project in China.

Alibaba Group was founded in Hangzhou by Jack Ma.

Hangzhou has been described as a "cashless city" with the Alipay app widely used.

Hangzhou hosted the World Short Course Swimming Championships in 2018.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic badminton champion Chen Yufei is from Hangzhou.

Forbes has rated Hangzhou as the best commercial city in mainland China.

Hangzhou is considered as a major centre for scientific research.

Matches during the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup were played in Hangzhou.

Three sporty robots, named Congcong, Lianlian and Chenchen, are the Hangzhou 2022 mascots.

	Country
	China	201	111	71
	Japan	52	67	69
	Korea, Republic Of	42	59	89
	India	28	38	41

View full table

Hangzhou 2022 creates art in rice field to celebrate Asian Games

By Michael Houston
Wednesday, 3 August 2022

Hangzhou 2022 has revealed an artistic rice field ©Hangzhou 2022

Hangzhou 2022 are continuing their push towards the postponed Asian Games by creating an artistic display in rice fields.

July was themed as the "Greeting the Asian Games" month, with a green field looking like a huge land art scroll, which was revealed at the Tianzi Imperial Garden Pastoral Complex of Jiangnan Town in Tonglu County.

From above, it shows the mascots of the Asian Games doing sports such as handball, weightlifting and equestrian.

There is also a figure carrying a torch, which symbolises the journey to the Opening Ceremony.

The postponed Asian Games in Hangzhou is set to take place from September 23 to October 8 2023 ©Getty Images

Hangzhou 2022 stated they hoped this would lead to tourism to the area.

The Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games are scheduled to take place from September 23 to October 8 2023, having been postponed from this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions in place in China.

It is to be the third edition of the Games to be held in China after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.

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When British skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Olympic gold medal in ice dance at Sarajevo 1984 with 12 perfect 6.0s from every judge, for their interpretation of Maurice Ravel's Boléro, an important member of their team was singer-actor Michael Crawford. Crawford, who had played Frank Spencer in British sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera, had become a mentor to the pair in 1981 and went on to help them create their Olympic routine. Crawford said he “taught them how to act". He was present with their trainer Betty Callaway at the ringside at Sarajevo as they created one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.

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