The Hangzhou 2022 "innovative" concept has combined the traditional Athletes' Village, Media Village, and Technical Officials' Village into one space that has the capacity for 20,000 people.

It is expected that 12,417 athletes are due to take part in the Games, scheduled to officially run from September 23 to October 8, which surpasses the previous record of 11,300 at Jakarta-Palembang 2018.

Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) acting director general Vinod Kumar Tiwari claimed the approach is the first of its kind in the history of the Asian Games.

"Just one week before the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games on September 23, I can see all your dreams have become reality - and we are standing here together in a truly magnificent Asian Games Village," he said.

"I would like to thank and congratulate HAGOC [Hangzhou 2022] for all their hard work and dedication, and I wish all success to the Chinese delegation competing here in the 19th Asian Games.

"The OCA is confident that all the guests will receive five-star treatment in terms of accommodation, dining, transportation and leisure activities.

"We believe the quality of life in the Asian Games Village can lay the foundations for a smooth and successful Hangzhou Asian Games."

A ceremony took place in the host city with Hangzhou Mayor Yao Gaoyuan and Li Huoli, the Director of the Standing Committee of Hangzhou Municipal People's Congress, among those participating.

Festivities saw a programme including a song and dance performance from local children, a drumming display and lion dance, before the banging of gongs announcing the Village was open.

Hangzhou 2022 has made a commitment to ensuring the Games are as environmentally friendly as possible.

As a result, it has implemented a system in the Village where people can accrue points by partaking in green practices such as taking public transit or walking which can then be exchanged for "low-carbon gifts".

In the Athletes' Village, the zero-waste exhibition hall showcases low-carbon, green, and eco-friendly practices everywhere.

For example, all cups are made from wheat straw, while the dining area offers biodegradable utensils, and the lighting source is from solar-powered energy.

Shared bicycles are also available in addition to plastic-free shopping and the clear your plate campaign which aims to minimise food waste. 

"We have athletes from 45 different countries," Xiao Lei, research and development director of Alibaba Cloud, which is hosting the Games' core computer systems, said.

"We don't have a universal app that's why we provided this QR code.

"They will log into the low carbon account.

"Outside this house, we have the waste sorting machine."

Xiao revealed there was a new scheme to encourage guests staying in the Village to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

"Whenever they recycle bottles or sort their wastes, they will gain about 10 carbon points," he said.

"They can use their points and come here to redeem some of the rewards.

"Most of our rewards were made from either recycled material or we have the no waste design in place." 

Technology is also a key feature of the Games Village, with the smart experience centre boasting an array of equipment.

Journalists were taken on a tour of Village and the centre where they saw virtual cycling apparatus, performing robotic dogs, and piano-playing robot musicians.

Furthermore, autonomous vehicles are due to be a feature of the Games with unmanned ice cream vans, driverless augmented reality-integrated smart buses, fully automatic mosquito eradication bots and automated cleaning machines.

Coinciding with the opening of the Village saw the first delegations arrive in Hangzhou for the Games which were originally scheduled for September last year before being postponed due to COVID-19.

The arrivals at entry points for the Games have been fitted with upgraded systems to allow personnel to quickly pass through security.

The service is available at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, Hangzhoudong Railway Station, Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Urumqi Diwopu International Airport.