The final full-scale rehearsal for the closing ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games was completed in host city Harbin, the capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on Wednesday.
The closing ceremony will consist of artistic performances at the main venue, the Harbin International Conference, Exhibition, and Sports Center, and the extinguishing of the cauldron at the sub-venue, the Harbin Ice and Snow World Park, the world's largest ice-and-snow theme park, on Friday.
The spectacular show aims to show respect for athletes who have gathered in Harbin to attend the sporting event, and expectations for prosperity and development of Asia.
It is the second time for Harbin to host the Asian Winter Games, after doing so for the tournament's third edition in 1996. Over 1,200 athletes from 34 countries and regions across Asia have competed in 64 events across six sports, making this edition the largest in terms of participating delegations and athletes.
Final full-scale rehearsal for Asian Winter Games closing ceremony completed in Harbin
Final full-scale rehearsal for Asian Winter Games closing ceremony completed in Harbin
Artificial intelligence and robotics, both major topics of discussion at the ongoing Boao Forum this year, are also being widely adopted at the event as ways to improve the service inside and outside the venue.
The BFA Annual Conference 2026 is being held in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. Running from March 24 to 27, this year's conference is themed "Shaping a Shared Future: New Dynamics, New Opportunities, New Cooperation."
A water generator at the venue cools and condenses moisture from the air into water, then filters and sterilizes it. It can also run on solar power for a completely off-grid, zero-carbon operation.
Meanwhile, a special robot barista operates a coffee stand where guests can order a drink with the press of a button, prompting the robotic arm to get to work -- grabbing a cup, brewing, and frothing -- all in one smooth motion.
The venue has also adopted an AI-based management system, which can automatically adjust a range of factors based on current conditions and detect and respond to anomalies when they occur.
These sorts of systems are already being adopted at a wider scale across Hainan.
"This is our operational management center for the zero-carbon demonstration zone. It’s powered by an AI-driven system that manages all energy consumption and carbon emissions. From here, we can remotely control over three thousand devices across the island with a click, including air conditioners and lighting. It's smart management, done remotely," said Zeng Youwen, chief general engineer of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design Hainan Branch.
Outside the venue, some smart equipment is also sharing the workload. On Boao's coastline, a beach-cleaning robot moves along the shore, sweeping up cigarette butts, debris, and coconut shells.
The robots can work before visitors arrive or after sunset, cleaning up to 3,000 square meters of beach per hour. In the water, a diving robot that clears debris and even has emergency rescue capabilities.
These on-site applications of emerging technologies have helped spur discussions at the forum on how the deep integration of technology and industry is gaining momentum as China enters the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
"Industries can only be upgraded by applying the new technologies, by applying AI, by applying other innovative technology, science and technology, there should all be injected into industries. And that's how the industries are going to produce high quality products. And you will have high quality productive forces that will change the lifestyle, the living standard of the Chinese people and the people living beyond," said Sohail Khan, deputy secretary-general of Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Founded in 2001, the BFA is a non-governmental and non-profit international organization committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals.
Robots, AI facilitate guest services at Boao Forum venue
