Asian Games opening ceremony rehearsal

An all-element rehearsal of the 19th Asian Games opening ceremony was held in the leading host city of Hangzhou on Saturday, to systematically test the entire procedures including rituals and performances to be presented at the ceremony.

The opening ceremony of the Games will be held in the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium on Sept 23. Nearly 50,000 people joined this rehearsal, and the whole ceremony was played out in 115 minutes. Saturday's rehearsal was the third opening ceremony rehearsal.

The rehearsal shows that all sections involved in the ceremony were well-connected, and all departments worked in harmony to present an artistic feast for the audience. Co-hosted by Hangzhou and five other cities in Zhejiang Province, namely, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Jinhua, Shaoxing and Huzhou, the 19th Asian Games are set to run from Sept 23 to Oct 8, featuring 40 sports, 61 disciplines and 481 events in 54 competition venues.