How the charm of the Asian Games stimulates economic vitality

The Asian Games has popularized sports consumption, small and micro businesses, and urban tourism.

1. Sparking sports consumption

The Hangzhou Asian Games has driven an upsurge in sports consumption and injected new impetus into the development of the sports industry. Domestically, the Hangzhou Asian Games also triggered a nationwide fitness craze, which resulted in strong domestic sales of sports products. According to statistics, more than 6,000 special fitness activities of various types were carried out across the country during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, with more than 3.3 million people directly participating.

In addition, after the Hangzhou Asian Games, in order to support national fitness, the gymnasium will be mainly used to hold large-scale events, the swimming pool will mainly operate professional swimming and diving events, swimming openings and training, and the comprehensive training hall will be open daily and Provide training for basketball, badminton, table tennis and other sports.

In addition, the Asian Games also provides Hangzhou with an opportunity to connect with international organizations. During the Asian Games, the World Badminton Federation, International Canoeing Federation, and International Hockey Federation signed cooperation memorandums with Hangzhou City. From December this year to the next few years, many competitions have been scheduled, and the implementation of these competitions will allow more people to participate.

2. Sparking popularity among small and micro businesses

The private economy is a new force in promoting Chinese-style modernization. At the Hangzhou Asian Games, Zhejiang private enterprises can be seen everywhere. According to media reports, among the 176 sponsoring companies of the Hangzhou Asian Games, 108 are from Zhejiang, and there are countless private companies involved directly or indirectly.

Not only large enterprises, but also small and micro enterprises with large volume and wide coverage have also shared the economic dividends of the Asian Games. Nearly 60% of the suppliers of the Hangzhou Asian Games are small and micro businesses. These companies come from all walks of life and occupy leading positions in related fields. In Zhejiang Province, more than a quarter of small and micro enterprises said they had received more orders through the Asian Games, with local companies in Hangzhou particularly benefiting.

In Hangzhou subway cars, competition venues, and city streets, you can often see local citizens wearing Asian Games badges or using them as backpack accessories. Among the Asian Games staff and even the athletes, there are also "masters" of Asian Games badges. About 80% of these badges come from the Jinxiang Badge Factory in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province. Taking advantage of the success of the Hangzhou Asian Games, the company's badge factory has a daily output of around 30,000 to 50,000 pieces.

The manufacturer that provides competitive dragon boats for the Hangzhou Asian Games dragon boat event is from Fuyang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. The company donated 26 racing dragon boats to this Asian Games, each of which has 15 patents. Technology allows the dragon boat to have a complete pattern and a flat and smooth appearance. It is light in weight, has good buoyancy, and has a smaller friction coefficient, which is conducive to increasing speed.

3. Urban tourism is popular

During the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, Hangzhou has become one of the top three popular domestic tourist destinations. The overall travel orders during the Asian Games increased by 279% year-on-year. According to data released by the Hangzhou Municipal Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, as of 16:00 on October 6, the city's scenic spots and attractions during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday had received a total of 13.0087 million tourists (an average of 1.6261 million people per day), an increase of 34.37% compared with the National Day holiday in 2022.

Inspired by the Asian Games, Zheng Qinwen, who won the women's tennis singles competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games, became popular for his "championship style" scallion bun stew, as well as the first gold medal winner at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the "post-00s" game "Fuchun River fish" recommended by boating athlete Zou Jiaqi has also become a new popular delicacy.

In addition to Hangzhou, the co-hosting cities of this Asian Games, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huzhou, Shaoxing and Jinhua, have also attracted sports fans from all over the country. Qunar’s big data shows that during the Asian Games, hotel advance bookings in Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huzhou, Shaoxing and Jinhua all increased by more than 5 times compared to the same period in 2019, with Shaoxing having the highest growth of 7.2 times, followed by Wenzhou with a 6.4 times increase.

Theme slogan

On December 15, 2019, at the 1,000-day countdown event for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2022, the theme slogan of the Hangzhou Asian Games was released. "Heart to Heart, @Future" (pronounced "Heart to Heart, Love the Future"), in English is "Heart to Heart, @Future".

The biggest highlight of the theme slogan of the Hangzhou Asian Games is the Internet symbol "@", which not only represents the interconnection of everything, but also fits the characteristics of Hangzhou as an Internet city.

On September 22, 2020, the Hangzhou Asian Games volunteer slogan collection activity was officially launched. All sectors of society will be mobilized to actively participate in the slogan collection through publicity, and the slogan of "dedication, friendship, mutual help, and progress" will be promoted in the whole society. The spirit of volunteering calls on volunteers to participate in event services and city services with fuller enthusiasm and in a better state.

The volunteer slogan collection activity will be conducted simultaneously online and offline, and the collection period will last about five weeks. Applicants can choose to submit online, submit by mail or submit on-site to participate in the solicitation. Specific submission channels, relevant requirements, required materials, etc. will be released on the Hangzhou Asian Organizing Committee’s official website, official WeChat public account and other platforms.