The torch relay ceremony for the 15th National Games was held simultaneously yesterday in Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, marking the first cross-boundary torch relay in the history of the Games and heralding the start of the Games, which will officially open on Nov. 9.
The torch relay launch ceremony commenced at 9 a.m. yesterday (Nov. 2) in Shenzhen's Lianhuashan Park. The first torchbearers in Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen subsequently began their legs simultaneously at 9:30 a.m. The Hong Kong leg started at the Government Headquarters in Admiralty, included a ferry crossing to Tsim Sha Tsui, and later saw the sacred flame transported by open-top bus to the Kai Tak Sports Park.
In Macao, the torch passed by numerous cultural heritage landmarks. Shenzhen deployed a humanoid robot as a torchbearer and used a helicopter for an aerial "transfer." The Guangzhou leg also incorporated an autonomous vehicle relay.
The torches from the four locations were transported via sea, land, and air, respectively, before all being conveyed to Guangzhou in the afternoon for a flame integration ceremony. They were then escorted to a designated location for safekeeping, in preparation for lighting the main cauldron at the opening ceremony.
As Huang Kunming, Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, lit the torch and passed it to the first bearer, Academician Xue Qikun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the torch relays in Hong Kong, Macao, and Guangzhou also simultaneously started running.
The "source flame" for the torch was obtained this September when the remotely operated submersible "Haima" collected combustible ice and associated gas from over 1,500 meters deep in the South China Sea. The flame was ignited using solar energy to light the combustible ice. This torch relay utilized intelligent robots, autonomous vehicles, and other technologies for carrying the flame or connecting route segments, highlighting the industrial strengths of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as an international hub for technology and innovation, and demonstrating the deep integration of technology and sports.
Hong Kong leg: Wong Chun-ting leads off, Kaylin Hsieh anchors
Acting Chief Executive Eric Chan officiated the Hong Kong leg. At the ceremony, the flame guard escorted in the sacred flame. Secretary for Culture, Sports, and Tourism Rosanna Law used a kindling torch to collect the sacred flame and light the cauldron. Chan then took fire from the cauldron and passed it to the first bearer, Hong Kong table tennis player Wong Chun-ting, to begin the relay.
The Hong Kong relay route spanned approximately 10 kilometers, divided into 5 segments. Starting from the Government Headquarters, it passed through the Central and Western District Promenade, the Wan Chai Temporary Promenade, and the Golden Bauhinia Square. The 23rd bearer, Hong Kong table tennis team head coach Li Ching, took a ferry across Victoria Harbour to the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Bus Terminus. The 38th bearer, Sino Group Chairman Daryl Ng, upon receiving the torch, boarded an open-top bus and passed the torch on the bus to Citybus Managing Director William Chung. The open-top bus proceeded to the Kai Tak Sports Park bus stop for the final relay segment. The last bearer, Hong Kong fencing team athlete Kaylin Hsieh, ran into the Central Square of Kai Tak Sports Park, lit the cauldron, and a flame retrieval ceremony was held, concluding the hour-and-a-half-long Hong Kong segment torch relay.
Shenzhen's 45km route
The Shenzhen leg, which hosted the launch ceremony, featured the longest relay route at 45 kilometers. The most notable highlight was the intelligent robot "Kuafu," which steadily received the flame from the second bearer, ran 100 meters, and smoothly passed it to the next torchbearer. This process was fluid and stable, becoming one of the standout features of this torch relay.
Ke Zhendong, Vice President of Leju Robot (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., which fully independently developed "Kuafu," introduced it as the world's first 5G-A humanoid robot torchbearer. "We had only one month from receiving the task to the relay, with no special hardware modifications made to 'Kuafu' itself." However, to meet the stringent demands of the torch relay, Leju formed a dedicated R&D team to upgrade its "motor control cerebellum."
Furthermore, the team collaborated with China Mobile and others to create a "high-speed information road" with low latency. Based on the 5G-A network, China Mobile optimized over 20 stations along the route, achieving stable communication with an uplink rate of 20Mbps and a latency of 20ms. This enabled real-time transmission of ultra-high-definition footage from the robot's first-person perspective, allowing technicians to ensure the robot accurately executed commands like "starting, running, waving, handing over" without needing to run alongside.
"The biggest challenge was the sustained load of the 1.6-kilogram torch," Ke said, explaining that the team optimized the load balance algorithm to precisely resolve potential center-of-gravity issues during the run. This allowed it to autonomously perceive the terrain and adjust its joint posture in real-time, even on sloped sections, maintaining steady strides throughout and perfectly matching the handover rhythm of the human torchbearers.
Besides robots, robotic dogs also appeared at the torch relay scene. Reporters observed that after torchbearers passed on the flame, a robotic dog would walk on four legs towards them, stop nearby, and deliver the mascot of the 15th National Games, adding to the atmosphere for the upcoming event.
Macao Leg passes cultural heritage sites
The Macao leg commenced with Macao SAR Chief Executive Sam Hou-fai lighting the torch from the cauldron at the Government Headquarters and presenting it to the first bearer, Macao wushu athlete Li Yi.
The Macao route was the shortest among the four locations, at approximately 2.6 kilometers. Starting from the Government Headquarters, the torch proceeded along Avenida da Praia Grande, Travessa do Bispo, Rua de S. Domingos, and other streets, passing by cultural heritage sites including the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady and the Jesuit Memorial Square. The final torchbearer, Macao karate athlete Kuok Kin-hang, carried the torch to the Ruins of St. Paul's, where a flame retrieval ceremony was held.
Guangzhou: From traditional to new central axis
The Guangzhou leg kick-off ceremony was set at the Zhenhai Tower in Yuexiu Park, the highest point on Guangzhou's old central axis and a representative site, along with the nearby Five Rams Statue, of the "Eight Views of Ram City." The route transitioned from the city's traditional central axis towards the new central axis, connecting historical landmarks with modern features. The total route was 11.6 kilometers, comprising 4.8 kilometers of running relay and 6.8 kilometers of vehicle transfer.
Notably, during the transfer segment from the West Gate of Yuexiu Park to the Guangdong Gymnasium, covering 6.8 kilometers, an innovative "autonomous vehicle transfer" was introduced.
In the afternoon, the flames from Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen converged in Guangzhou, and a flame integration ceremony for the 15th National Games torch relay was held at the Guangdong Olympic Sports Center. During the ceremony, flame guards escorted the four cities' flames into the venue and used them to light torches. Representatives from the four cities, holding these torches, jointly lit the integration cauldron.
Subsequently, the flame guards collected the integrated flame into a new lantern and escorted it to a designated location for storage. As the four flames merged into one, it signified the successful conclusion of the first jointly hosted National Games torch relay by the GBA, also setting a solemn prelude for the lighting of the main cauldron at the opening ceremony on Nov. 9.
(Source: Wen Wei Po; Journalists: Hong Zekai, Hu Yongai, Li Wei, Shuai Cheng; English Editor: Darius)
Related News:
Deepline | Women behind curtain: Female masterminds craft National Games opening
Comment