STORY: Athletes relish festive vibe at Hangzhou Asian Games Village
DATELINE: Sept. 30, 2023
LENGTH: 00:03:05
LOCATION: HANGZHOU, China
CATEGORY: SPORTS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration inside the Athletes' Village
2. STANDUP (English): YU JIAMING, Xinhua correspondent
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): VLEIRY TARAZI, Palestinian athlete
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MALIKA LAGUTENKO, Tajik athlete
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): FATIMA AL HOSANI, UAE athlete
6. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): CHIN HUI NG, Singaporean athlete
7. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): NG KIU CHUNG, Athlete from Hong Kong, China

STORYLINE:

STANDUP (English): YU JIAMING, Xinhua correspondent
"As this year's Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Friday, athletes competing in the Hangzhou Asian Games and their local friends join activities in celebration of the 'moon festival' featuring mooncakes, lanterns and moon gazing. So how is the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated at the Athletes' Village? Let's find out."

The athletes enjoyed artistic performances, explored a mid-autumn fair, experienced making mooncakes, lanterns, and donned Hanfu, a type of traditional Chinese clothing.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): VLEIRY TARAZI, Palestinian athlete
"We're making these little lantern things. And I'm making a pink bunny. Everything we've done this week has been super impressive. Anywhere from making fans, they really incorporated all Chinese culture, especially with the big holiday here. In general, everything has been very impressive and very educational.
Everyone has been so friendly. It's been such a great experience. The city is beautiful, very innovative. Overall, it's just been a great experience."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MALIKA LAGUTENKO, Tajik athlete
"It's very interesting to know such traditions. And it's very interesting to do something by yourself because you will remember this all your life.
I need to say that my favorite part in this Asian Games in China is people. I really like to connect to people, to speak with them, to make new friends. And I really like it that athletes here are like one big family. And I guess it's done really big work by the organizing committee to do such a great Asian Games."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): FATIMA AL HOSANI, UAE athlete
"Perfect. It's made by me. I came before to China in 2014. It was for the Youth Olympic Games. And they did such similar things. But now it's a simpler way to present it to the players. So I like the way they are using now to show the people (athletes) from all around Asia how your culture mixes with sport. It's a really unique thing to do."

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): CHIN HUI NG, Singaporean athlete
"I think this village is amazing. The amenities and everything, it's so modern, so clean. And the cultural elements are very diverse, very vibrant. I've never been exposed to such a vibrant festival. The ones in Singapore are a lot more commercial, but down here, there are all these lantern-weaving and cultural performances. There's so much more going on down here."

SOUNDBITE 5 (English): NG KIU CHUNG, Athlete from Hong Kong, China
"It (the Mid-Autumn Festival) is also related to family reunion. And we're kind of having a reunion with my family. We are together in the Asian Games. The environment tonight is very good. All these streets and all the performances are very good. We enjoy it."

The 19th Asian Games kicked off a week ago in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province. The events will last until Oct. 8.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Hangzhou, China.
(XHTV)