Jade-inspired medals for Winter Olympics, Paralympics unveiled
Inspired by Chinese jade ornaments, the official medals of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games were unveiled on Tuesday, 100 days ahead of the opening of the premier sporting event.
After months of anticipation and secrecy, the organizing committee of the Beijing 2022 Games introduced the medals－dubbed tong xin, which means togetherness－during a ceremony marking the countdown to the opening of the event on Feb 4.
At around 8:30 pm when the countdown clock ticked down to 100 days, Vice-Premier Han Zheng, together with China's first Winter Olympic gold medalist Yang Yang and Olympic champion swimmer Zhang Yufei, unveiled a set of gold, silver and bronze medals for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The medals, inspired by yu bi, a circular Chinese jade artifact dating back 5,000 years, each has carvings of the Olympic rings on one side and inscribed with the words "XXIV Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022". Engravings of cloud patterns, an element used on the torch of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, snowflakes and ice markings fill the outer rings.
The concentric rings around the center of the medals represent the pursuit of unity and harmony, common in Chinese culture, while echoing the Olympic values of solidarity, inclusiveness and promoting peace.
The other side of the medals has the Beijing 2022 emblem at the center. The outer rings are dotted with 24 stars strung together by circles, representing the 24th edition of the Winter Olympics.
Sharing the same design, but with slight changes, the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games medals were also unveiled on Tuesday, with the International Paralympic Committee's logo carved on one side and the Beijing 2022 Paralympic emblem on the other.
"Hopefully, by enriching the Winter Olympic elements with Chinese characteristics, we can leave a Chinese mark on the promotion of the Olympic spirit and build more excitement around the opening of the Games," said Cai Qi, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and president of the organizing committee.
"To inherit the concept of the 2008 medal design is one of the principles we set ourselves approaching the design for Beijing 2022," said Hang. "Visually, it looks quite simple and plain at first glance, while details such as the carving of clouds and snowflake patterns as well as the uneven casting on the surface have made it special."
The medals will be produced by the Shanghai Mint, the same coinage company that manufactured the 2008 medals.
Also unveiled at the ceremony were medal cases, made from bamboo, and the lanyards with Olympic rings and "Beijing 2022" embroidered on ribbons made from silk. The theme song for medal ceremonies at the Games, Salute to the Warriors, was also introduced to the public.
The Beijing 2022 will be a grand gathering of all countries and a platform of fair competition among athletes across the world. China will work with the international community to be "together", the new element of the Olympic Spirit, and stay "together for a shared future". We are fully confident that a streamlined, safe and splendid Olympic Games will be dedicated to the world, and welcome international athletes to demonstrate the charm and beauty of winter sports at Beijing 2022.
