The 9th Asian Winter Games (AWG) came to an end in Harbin, also known as the ice city, in China's northernmost province of Heilongjiang on Friday, with a grand closing ceremony held to show respect for athletes attending the sports event and expectations for prosperity and development of Asia.
Running from Feb 7 to 14, the Harbin Games has gathered a record 1,222 athletes from 34 nations and regions, marking the country's third time hosting the AWG, following Harbin 1996 and Changchun 2007.
The Games featured six sports, 11 disciplines and 64 events. China sits atop the medal tally with 32 gold, 27 silver, and 26 bronze medals, its best record in the history of the Games, followed by South Korea and Japan in second and third place with 16 and 10 golds respectively.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown and Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene attended the closing ceremony at the Harbin International Conference, Exhibition, and Sports Center.
Xu Mengtao, who won two gold medals and one silver for the Chinese team in the freestyle skiing aerials events, served as China's flagbearer at the closing ceremony.
Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) declared the Games closed, saying that this is truly a unique and charming part of China and the world - not only for the beauty of the city and the landscape but also for the warmth and friendliness of the local people.
With the OCA flag lowered and the OCA anthem played, Harbin Mayor Wang Hesheng handed the flag to Fok, who entrusted the flag to Saudi Arabian Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal.
The 2029 Asian Winter Games will be held in Trojena, Saudi Arabia, marking the first time the event is hosted in West Asia.
With 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, the 9th Asian Winter Games officially drew to a close.
9th Asian Winter Games comes to end with grand closing ceremony in China's ice city
9th Asian Winter Games comes to end with grand closing ceremony in China's ice city
