At 8 p.m. on February 4, the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics was held at the National Stadium Bird's Nest. Beijing once again attracted the attention of the world.

The story of a snowflake ran through the entire opening ceremony, from the countdown short film, the country name guide plate of the participating countries, the actors' costumes, the background of the chairman's speech, the background of the pigeon of peace performance and the theme song singing, to the main torch, all of which use "a snowflake" as the core visual image.

The image of a snowflake was seen from the countdown video, the placards of participating nations and regions, the costumes of the performers, the show of the “peace doves” to the main torch stand. “We hope the snowflake can convey the common emotions shared by mankind and reflect the theme of ‘One World, One Family’,” said Zhang Yimou, the first director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games in China.

Constructing a snowflake

The athletes were led into the arena by placard carriers in tiger-head hats. Each placard was designed to look like a glowing snowflake. The illuminated snowflake was a recurring symbol inspired by a Li Bai poem.

According to Li Min, the six points of each smaller snowflake were shaped like Chinese knots, traditional decorative artworks, with a symbol of harmony and beauty.

After the Parade of Nations, those snowflakes were connected together into a larger flake that formed the Olympic cauldron. The larger sculpture featured olive branches in a symbol of peace.

Presenting Chinese aesthetics

It was revealed that the design of these "snowflakes" had taken nearly three years and had undergone more than 300 drafts of repeated revisions. Looking back on the design work related to the opening ceremony, Li Min and Song Chen both said that it was "very memorable".

After a series of significant simplifications, the team finally designed a 'snowflake' form that meets both visual aesthetics and physical effects, presenting the romance and beauty of the Chinese people to the world.

Contemporary expression of traditional spirit

From the entrance ceremony to the lighting of the main torch, the snowflake element was ubiquitous in the opening ceremony. Snowflakes from all over the world eventually converged on the stage of the Winter Olympics to form a single snowflake, signifying both the great unity of the world and the wish and concept of building together.

The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games was a great success, with many netizens exclaiming "this is the romance of the Chinese".

Finally, Let’s make a snowflake card together.