Nigeria Times

By Sun Longfei, Liu Junguo, People’s Daily

The 19th Asian Games, which opened on Sept. 23 in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province, has provided a stage for athletes from across Asia to surpass themselves, and has also opened a window showing China’s technological innovation.

Various cutting-edge technologies such as 5G, internet of things, big data, and artificial intelligence have been widely used, and intelligent elements can be observed in the entire process and all aspects of the sports event, laying a solid foundation for holding a streamlined, safe, and splendid Asian Games.

In the central server room of the Huanglong Sports Center, a branch venue of the Games, a large screen clearly displayed the operation status of the entire venue. With the help of an intelligent management system, staff members collected and monitored real-time data through various indicators of the venue, thereby improving management efficiency.

To ensure optimal conditions for sailing competitions at the Ningbo Xiangshan Sailing Center, the local meteorological department has partnered with the Ningbo Artificial Intelligence Supercomputing Center. By utilizing AI capabilities, the time required for generating accurate weather forecasts has been reduced from 9 hours to just 4.5 hours.

The Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, often referred to as “the Big Lotus,” is the major venue of the Hangzhou Asian Games and will host track and field competitions. With the aid of digital technologies, the stadium has achieved multi-platform intelligent operations. An “online event” command platform, a digital intelligent meteorological platform, an intelligent medical emergency response system and others work in synergy to ensure smooth running of large-scale events, accurate weather forecasts for key areas, and rapid emergency medical response.

Shaoxing, a co-host city of the Hangzhou Asian Games, has outfitted its Asian Games venues with a smart telemedicine system to strengthen medical support. Leveraging 5G and augmented reality (AR) technologies, on-site doctors can initiate remote consultations with experts from other hospitals.

Ma Quan of the medical team at the China Textile City Sports Centre Gymnasium, the competition venue for volleyball during the Asian Games, told People’s Daily that his 5G-enabled AR goggles can send what he sees to off-site specialists in real time so that they can work together to provide professional medical treatment and emergency services for injured athletes.

From Sept. 8 to 20, the torch relay for the Hangzhou Asian Games was held across 11 cities in Zhejiang province. In addition to over 2,000 physical torchbearers, more than 100 million people from 130 countries and regions participated in an online torch relay via a mini program on Alipay, a third-party mobile and online payment platform launched by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. AI technologies like facial recognition and motion capture have been used by the mini program to generate unique 3D avatars for each “digital torchbearer,” which highlighted the charm of technology.

On Sept. 13, the Hangzhou Asian Games’ three core systems, namely Results Distribution System, Games Management System, and Games Support System, were launched at 54 competition venues, the main media center, the Asian Games Village, and the IT command center. They are now providing services to over 100,000 registered users from more than 40 countries and regions.

From the timing and scoring systems at the venues to the results systems, all information flows, gets processed and is finally presented in the form of data. Cloud computing is widely utilized to enable flexible allocation of computing resources, thus fully supporting the Asian Games’ organizing and operations. This means the core systems of the Hangzhou Asian Games are 100 percent cloud-based, making it the first “Asian Games in the cloud.”

Cloud computing not only provides support for the Games systems, but also interconnects with intelligent applications to serve eight major groups including athletes, spectators, staff members and more.

Take cloud broadcasting as an example. Leveraging the cross-regional capabilities of cloud networks, the broadcast signals of the Hangzhou Asian Games will emanate from Hangzhou and be delivered globally to Asian and worldwide audiences with millisecond latency.

In Huzhou, another co-host city of the Hangzhou Asian Games, autonomous buses equipped with LiDAR, millimeter wave radar, and visual cameras have been deployed to provide shuttle services, improving transportation efficiency around venues.

The Zhejiang branch of China Mobile, one of the three major telecommunication carriers in China, has covered a 4-kilometer scenic strip between the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center and Asian Games Village with a 5G-Advanced network. With a speed about 10 times faster than 5G, the network will deliver a more immersive experience for watching naked-eye 3D sports broadcasts, movies and videos.

On a big screen of the cable intelligent monitoring center at the Asian Games Village, a 3D digital twin model of the Village’s underground utility tunnel was displayed in real time. Since this year, the Zhejiang branch of State Grid has actively promoted the application of smart technologies, achieving holographic digitization of the Asian Games Village’s power grid to enhance operational safety and contribute a new power support plan for the Asian Games.

With the latest digital and intelligent applications garnering worldwide attention, Hangzhou is making great efforts to deliver a wonderful Asian Games with Chinese characteristics and Asian styles.

By Wang Ke, People’s Daily

As dusk fell, Sanlitun, a popular destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment in Beijing’s Chaoyang district, was teeming with visitors. There, the crowds encountered various types of “intelligent” elements.

It was the peak time for dining. Robots were seen guiding diners to queue and leading the way in many restaurants.

In parking lots, there was no line waiting at the exit. With WeChat mini-programs on their mobile phones, consumers could park intelligently, inquire about free parking length and pay parking fees. They could even order valet parking and other services on these mini-programs.

In a beauty store in the TaiKoo Li Sanlitun complex, customers were trying makeup in front of augmented reality-enabled “magic mirrors,” which were able to show before-and-after images. These “magic mirrors” clearly displayed makeup effects, providing customers with better references in selecting and buying suitable cosmetics.

Shopping malls and districts are important parts of a city’s business infrastructure, serving as carriers to promote circulation innovation and nurture emerging consumption.

At present, many brick-and-mortar stores in China are adapting to new changes in demands for consumption upgrades by employing new technologies like 5G, internet of things, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality, in an attempt to construct smart stores, innovate consumption scenarios, and improve consumer experiences.

At the audio-video experience section of a flagship store under leading Chinese retail company Suning in Xinjiekou, Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu province, various products manufactured by different brands were displayed together, bringing an immersive shopping experience.

In addition, the store also introduced home furnishing and decoration services so as to provide consumers with a complete set of home audio-video solutions.

Such new and smart experiences significantly drove consumption. According to statistics, passenger flow at the flagship store jumped 56 percent from a year ago between July 28 and Aug. 18.

Green and intelligent home appliances were favored by customers. During the period, the sales of smart sweeping robots, intelligent all-in-one washer dryers and energy-saving refrigerators surged 165 percent, 118 percent and 73 percent year-on-year, respectively.

“I came here with my child to experience the naked-eye 3D display in the mall. It feels like we were in a science fiction world,” said consumer Li Li at the JD Mall in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi province, a complex run by Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com focusing on providing an immersive omnichannel shopping experience to customers.

This 40,000-square-meter shopping center is filled with trendy and technological elements, from its overall design to interactive experiences, making it a well-known destination in the local consumer market.

The exterior wall of the mall features a giant naked-eye 3D screen, providing an immersive, realistic 3D experience. Inside the stores, holographic projections, VR equipment, intelligent robots, virtual live streaming rooms, transparent circuit rooms, and other high-tech installations and facilities were equipped, bringing a refreshing experience.

To improve efficiency and reduce costs through digital transformation is also an important consideration for smart mall construction.

At Raffles City, a shopping mall in southwest China’s Chongqing municipality, the implementation of intelligent operation and maintenance systems such as intelligent power control, environmental monitoring, and energy management monitoring has greatly reduced the mall’s management costs and improved efficiency.

“The intelligent control of air conditioning and lighting saves about 30 percent of energy consumption,” said an executive of the mall.

The mall has also built passenger flow analysis and membership management systems. By profiling and categorizing consumer behaviors, it has achieved digitalized management and services for hundreds of thousands of members.

The essence of smart mall construction is elevating consumer experiences through service optimization. Surveys show that many malls have provided consumers with various digital services by utilizing marketing tools like mini-programs and apps.

For instance, the Yu Garden in east China’s Shanghai has launched a mini-program, which allows one-click access to comprehensive services including navigation, information, interaction, and marketing. Since the mini-program was launched, it has integrated dozens of cultural and tourism sites and consumption scenarios, giving citizens and tourists better experiences.

Zhang Jihang, deputy director of the market research department of the Academy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, told People’s Daily that the development of brick-and-mortar retail is impacted by various factors such as rising operating costs, structural adjustment of consumer demand, and the rapid growth of online retail.

However, backed by the huge Chinese market, the future of physical stores is still full of hope, he said. He explained that, unlike online shopping, offline shopping at physical stores can satisfy the social demand for shopping, entertainment, leisure, dining and tourism, and the consumers’ instant demand for face-to-face shopping and use of goods.

He believes that by focusing on the increasingly diverse and personalized needs of consumption, shopping malls are sure to inspire new vitality.

“Digital transformation is the primary focus for the evolution of shopping malls,” said Hong Yong, associate researcher with the e-commerce research institute of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

He further emphasized the need to strengthen the application of new-gen information technologies such as the internet and big data, improve circulation efficiency and service capabilities, and provide consumers with more new supplies.

By Xu Jiawei, Li Yicheng

In villages of Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang province, it’s common to see exquisite and beautiful courtyard houses standing alongside small bridges and flowing creeks. With fields blanketed by golden ripening rice and wheat, it presents a gorgeous scene reminiscent of a quintessential canal town in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

In recent years, Ningbo has been working to promote the building of livable towns and beautiful countryside. It focuses on protecting and developing traditional villages as well as treating rural domestic sewage. By building “beautiful courtyards,” Ningbo aims at closer integration between the culture and tourism sectors.

In Qinshan village, Jiulonghu township, Zhenhai district of Ningbo, every household grows flowers, making beautiful scenery a sight at every doorstep. The beautiful courtyards in the village are the fruit of the joint efforts made by Qin Lei, a master Chinese floral artist, and local villagers. In 2018, Qin returned to his hometown and became an art consultant for local rural revitalization. He established a floral art workshop in the village to help villagers obtain skills and increase income.

“At first, the villagers thought learning flower arrangement was useless. So we invited villagers who enjoyed flowers to join us first. Their courtyards became beautiful, which inspired their neighbors to follow suit. Thus, the enthusiasm of the villagers was greatly increased,” said Qin.

The flower arrangement business not only increased income for villagers, but also attracted large numbers of tourists to come and enjoy the scenery. Many villagers transformed their houses into B&B hotels. In addition to lodging in the beautifully renovated courtyards, tourists can visit various attractions around the village such as a wetland park and a cultural museum depicting local history. On top of that, new forms of cultural tourism and leisure businesses like campgrounds and floral art workshops are also starting to thrive. Today, B&B hotel rooms in the village are often fully booked on holidays, and the village has genuinely attained shared wealth and beauty.

Introducing artistic approaches, encouraging villagers’ participation, and stimulating the endogenous motivation for rural revitalization are important means.

In April this year, a team led by Professor Cong Zhiqiang from Renmin University of China was invited to Nanxi village in Shenzhen township, Ninghai county, where it worked with “Sister Nanxi,” a group of women who are good at decorating courtyards, to artistically revitalize a rural house that had been abandoned for nearly 20 years. Finally, they successfully created a beautiful courtyard called Nanxinan Courtyard that integrates leisure, dining, and entertainment all in one place.

“We originally just intended to plant some flowers to improve the overall environment of the village. I didn’t expect that after the artistic transformation by Cong’s team, and with the donations of old items from villagers, the small courtyard has become more and more beautiful, and has attracted many tourists,” said a member of “Sister Nanxi,” whose real name is Liao Zhongfang.

The Nanxinan Courtyard made Nanxi village a hot destination among tourists, so the “Sister Nanxi” started providing catering services in the courtyard, launching a series of signature dishes to make the courtyard even more popular.

Since its opening on May 27 this year, the Nanxinan Courtyard has received nearly 20,000 visits and generated direct economic benefits exceeding 170,000 yuan ($23,249).

The courtyard has also created various new opportunities to boost income. The village collective and villagers have partnered with social capital, pioneering new business models through equity shares, leasing, partnerships, and more. This has expanded the services offered such as camping, barbecue, team-building, research activities, and connected nearby B&B hotels, agritainment facilities, and hot spring resorts. Integrating the culture and tourism sector has truly transformed the Nanxinan Courtyard into a model of shared prosperity.

The building of beautiful courtyards in Ningbo has scaled up from individual homes to entire communities. Dongdan village in Xiangshan county has leveraged its coastal location to build 55 differentiated B&B hotels and constructed a trendy beach for water sports, attracting many tourists. Lijiakeng village in Haishu district meticulously preserves its ancient architectures, allowing visitors to discover the rich history and culture of local ancient architectures and Tang poetry. Zoumatang village in Yinzhou fuses beautiful courtyards with traditional opera performance, taking visitors to an immersive world of Chinese opera.

So far, Ningbo has built 354,800 beautiful courtyards, including 400 awarded as “the most beautiful courtyards” at the municipal level. There are also 60 featured belts and 60 model villages for beautiful courtyard construction. This has effectively driven local economic development and ecological progress.

By Bao Han, People’s Daily

Soaring kicks, side flips, spinning kicks… A set of smooth, flowing movements combining strength and grace fully demonstrated the stretch, elegance and fluidity of Changquan.

On Sept. 24, the men’s Changquan final of Wushu was held at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Center in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province, during the 19th Asian Games. Chinese athlete Sun Peiyuan successfully defended his title.

After standing on the top podium in Incheon in 2014 and in Jakarta in 2018, Sun once again gained the laurel at the Asian Games, achieving a three-peat.

On the same day, the women’s Taijiquan and Taijijian all-round final kicked off. Competing in the Asian Games for the first time, Chinese young athlete Tong Xin clinched the gold medal with top scores in both Taijiquan and Taijijian.

Scoring two golds a day, the Chinese national Wushu team showcased the charm of Wushu, or Chinese martial arts, to the world.

Wushu, originating from China, is a traditional sport that focuses on routines and combat. As a treasure of the 5,000-year-old Chinese civilization, it emphasizes mastery of physical forms while conveying inner spirit, unifying internal cultivation and external technique. This unique integration is of high aesthetic beauty.

As a competitive sport with great fitness value, Wushu has spread widely across Asia and the world at large. Since it was first incorporated into the Beijing Asian Games in 1990, the event has attracted massive athletes from countries and regions in Asia. It also appeared as a special exhibition event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Wushu is blossoming around the world. In recent years, leveraging international comprehensive event platforms like the Asian Games, the FISU World University Games and the World Games, traditional Chinese Wushu has gained countless popularity overseas.

A global fever for Wushu has emerged, attracting numerous young people to travel to China for training. Additionally, many Chinese have established Wushu schools outside China, providing people from diverse cultural backgrounds the opportunity to experience the charm of the sport.

A total of 158 countries and regions have now united under the banner of the International Wushu Federation, and there are over 100 million Wushu enthusiasts worldwide. A complete, standardized competition system of the sport has been shaped, which covers such tournaments or events as the World Wushu Championships, the World Taijiquan Championships and the World Junior Wushu Championships.

More people will be able to appreciate the beauty of Wushu during the Hangzhou Asian Games. It is expected that people from more countries would get to know, experience and fall in love with Wushu, which will help this cultural gem of China shine brighter.