The China Open 2024 tennis tournament, scheduled for September 23 to October 6 in Beijing, has seen its slogan and mascot unveiled, with some of the world's top-notch tennis stars having confirmed their participation in the event.
At the press conference on Friday, the organizing committee unveiled the slogan "All for Passion," the mascots "A Zhong," two anthropomorphic tennis figures, and ticketing information.
The China Open 2024 is classified as an ATP 500 event on the ATP Tour and a WTA 1000 event on the WTA Tour, making it the largest tennis event in Asia. The annual tournament, which covers the country's National Day holiday, attracted 184,000 spectators when it resumed after the pandemic in 2023.
The event will still feature dual finals. The WTA final will be held on October 6, and the ATP final on October 2.
Zhang Junhui, director of the tournament, told China Central Television that many of the world's top players, including Chinese players who made breakthroughs in the Olympics, have confirmed to compete for the title.
"World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, No. 4 Daniil Medvedev and No. 5 Alexander Zvere have all confirmed their participation in the China Open and of course Grigor Dimitrov, once one of the most anticipated players in the world of tennis, will also participate. On the women's side, Zheng Qinwen, who finished second at the Australian Open earlier this year and just reached the final of the women's singles at the Olympic Games, will also be playing. Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu are also strong contenders, either in their mixed doubles or men's and women's singles at the upcoming China Open," he said.
The organizing committee also confirmed sponsorship by the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC) in the field of risk protection services, saying it expects to have more cooperation with the state-owned insurance company in promoting youth tennis, public welfare for the disabled and other areas.
China Open 2024 unveils slogan, mascot, features top tennis stars
China Open 2024 unveils slogan, mascot, features top tennis stars
A festive atmosphere is building up as people across China have been making preparations to ring in the Spring Festival next week, with lights and decorations set everywhere, and with New Year goods markets all seeing booming sales.
The Spring Festival, which marks the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year, is the most important annual holiday in China, when people across the country return to their hometowns for Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations and family reunion.
In Xi'an City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, a grand lantern show is in its final stage of preparation before opening to the public ahead of the eve of the 2025 Chinese Lunar New Year. To be lit up on Wednesday, the large light sets presented at the event will draw numerous visitors, with lanterns that replicate 38 cultural relics as the highlight.
Buying New Year flowers has been a custom for Chinese people. In Yancheng City of east China's Jiangsu Province, various flowers which have auspicious meanings are already in high demand.
This year, tulips bred locally have been put on sale, and quickly become a favorable choice for many customers.
"I have never seen this kind of flower before. I think it is really bright-colored. Therefore, I decided to buy some to enhance the festive atmosphere at home," said Zhang Jinjian, a local resident.
The Anchang ancient town in Shaoxing City of east China's Zhejiang Province has a time-honored custom of making aired sausages and spiced duck.
As the Spring Festival draws near, plenty of visitors and tourists choose to purchase these local delicacies as ingredients for their Chinese New Year feast.
"The number of tourists has been increasing, so the sales of our spiced meat have been quite good. Compared with the same period of last year, our sales is expected to increase by about 50,000 yuan (about 6,835 U.S. dollars). We will earn an additional 200,000 to 300,000 yuan (27,335 to 41,000 U.S. dollars) in sales during this whole winter," said Yang Jing, owner of a local spiced meat shop.
In southwest China's Yunnan Province, the "Tiaocai dance" is a time-honored tradition of the Yi ethnic minority group. The dance is presented in the form of serving dishes while dancing to the rhythm. It usually happens on a joyous or grand occasion.
Since the most significant annual festival is around the corner, Yi people have dressed up in traditional costumes, and got ready to welcome the arrival of the Chinese Lunar New Year with the special dance.
People across China make preparations to welcome Spring Festival