Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games venues' progress through lens of an old man

Tian Chen was taking pictures of Hangzhou 2022 venues. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

From spring to winter, dawn to dusk, 74-year-old Tian Xiao took over 600 pictures over the past three years from the balcony of his apartment. The subject of his portfolio remains the same - the Gongshu District Chengxi Sports Park.

The venues in the sports park will host table tennis and hockey competitions during the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. Upon completion, the sports park will be the largest in the city that enables the public to learn about the Asian Games, experience the canal culture of the city, exercise and participate in sports trainings.

"I was so happy when I heard it will be built here," said Tian, who lived just across the street.

The area was a shabby urban village before included in a government renovation project and has been under construction to meet Hangzhou 2022 standard since 2017.

Picture taken by Tian Xiao. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

"When our residential community was first built, there was basically nothing but farmland in the surroundings. Only one bus could take us to the city center and there were no taxis," recalled Tian.

The past few years have seen great changes in the area, and that's why Tian took up his phone and later camera to take pictures. The over 600 pictures he took captured the milestone moments of the construction, from the first pile was placed in the very beginning, to the completion of the roof of the stadium this year. Even slogans on the sites caught his eyes.

"I'm not only recording the construction process, but a piece of history of the city development, of how our living environment changes year after year," said a proud Tian, whose more than 200 works were filed by the constructors.

The venues will be delivered to the organizing committee by March 2021. As a former architecture designer, Tian lauded the design of the venues and couldn't wait for the sports park to open to public when the venues finish construction.

"It will bring great convenience for people living around like me; it was not designed solely for hosting the Asian Games in the first place. This is a vivid example why Hangzhou was listed in the China's Happiest Cities for several times," he said.