Springing forward

As the water cube slowly rose from the floor, gradually becoming a block of "ice", with a five-sided, naked-eye 3D effect, 24 lasers started to carve information about previous Olympic Games on the "ice".After that, an ice hockey player hit a puck, breaking the ice to reveal the five Olympic rings. The flow of light and color seemingly led the audience on a journey through time and space.

Tao's group did a lot of preparatory work, including the selection of props and performance forms, to give audiences a closer look at ice and snow sports and appreciate the charm of nature. The application of Chinese ink paintings and the lake that was eventually presented were inspired by a conversation with Zhang, during which they agreed that showing the landscape in the style of ink painting would show the depth of Chinese culture.

In the part of the show that paid tribute to the people, Tao emphasized world unity and a people-oriented concept through the combination of visual art, highlighting the Olympic spirit of "faster, higher, stronger-together".

To the song Fill the World With Love, 76 young Chinese and foreigners walked across the floor of the arena, opening a picture scroll with their footprints. Over 300 photos were presented, showing people of all creeds and colors, expressing hope, all under the slogan of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, "together for a shared future".

At the same time, the show included a roller skating performance, which echoed 8 Minutes in Beijing, presented at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

The skating show had 24 students from Beijing Sports University draw smooth interlaced lines on the ground, like the track on which athletes compete, forming a traditional Chinese knot.

The skating performance was a result of a few brainstorming sessions between Tao and her team. Finally, they came up with the idea to blend skating with street dance.

Zhang, the general director of the opening ceremony, said in an interview with Chinese media, "Our opening ceremony will not only be about the Winter Olympics, but also about Chinese people's concept of time and the universe, and our traditional culture. Especially at the time when the whole world is under siege by the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of life and growth in nature is particularly important."