Amid ice and snow, a blazing flame atop a newly unveiled cauldron marked the opening of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on Feb. 7.

The torch tower was designed by teachers and students from the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (AADTHU). The structure, a new landmark at the Harbin Ice and Snow World Park on Sun Island, now stands as a testament to months of dedication.

The cauldron is lit during the opening ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, Feb. 7, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Dean Ma Sai and Professor Fan Yinliang of the Department of Industrial Design described the cauldron as a source of pride, embodying creativity and conveying meaningful stories.

"The time was very tight; we had to submit the design within a couple of weeks," Ma recalled of the phone call he received from the Harbin Asian Winter Games Organizing Committee in mid-August. The committee invited the academy to participate in the main cauldron design tender, with submissions due by Aug. 31, 2024. Since it was summer vacation, Ma urgently convened video meetings with teachers and students scattered in various locations, and a team from the Department of Industrial Design began the project."

Guided by Professor Fan, a team of more than a dozen teachers and students quickly gathered information and elements related to the Asian Winter Games and Harbin's culture. Meeting nightly to brainstorm, they produced 10 detailed proposals within weeks.

The lilac-shaped cauldron plan, centered on Harbin's city flower, stood out from the proposals submitted by 12 bidding entities and won the competition on Sept. 24, 2024. The organizing committee approved the proposal on Oct. 2, and detailed design work began soon after.

The cauldron design team meets with a local installation company in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, in December 2024. [Photo courtesy of AADTHU]

The design of the cauldron skillfully integrates regional culture with ice and snow sports to represent key themes of the Games. The lilac, with its resilient and elegant temperament, perfectly embodies the unyielding spirit of the people of Harbin. The crystalline snowflake, a symbol of Harbin as the "Ice City," represents purity, peace and passion for winter sports.

A hexagonal snowflake design forms the torch tower's base, which rises 28.55 meters to a three-dimensional, five-petal lilac blossom. The flowing lines create an elegant appearance.

A concept image of the "Snowy Charm of Lilac" torch tower. [Image courtesy of AADTHU]

"Lilacs usually have four petals, while five-petal lilacs are very rare and thus seen as a symbol of luck," Ma explained. "From above, the lilac and snowflake create a concentric blooming effect, aligning with the Asian Winter Games slogan: 'Dream of Winter, Love among Asia.'"

At the top, a vivid Chinese red "pistil" serves as the finishing touch, composed of 56 gas nozzles representing China's 56 ethnic groups. Surrounding the nozzles are vertical ridges symbolizing the spirit of unity and moving forward together. When lit, flames cascade through the hollow lilac petals, creating a warm glow.

The design for cauldron head design of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin. [Photo courtesy of AADTHU]

Completing the design was only the first step; the real challenge was translating it into reality. To ensure a flawless opening ceremony, the cauldron had to be delivered and rehearsals started by the end of December 2024. In less than three months, the team overcame numerous challenges.

Achieving a perfect transition from the snowflake design at the base to the lilac blossom at the top of the torch tower 's outer surface was a major challenge, Fan said. The team had to carefully consider the torch tower's structure, the construction process, the materials used, and how much weight it could support.

He explained that the narrowest part of the torch tower was initially designed to be 1.3 meters wide, but manufacturing limitations meant they could only make the outer surface and central support 1.5 meters wide.

"For us, those 20 centimeters were crucial. It had to be narrowed; otherwise, the entire torch tower would be deformed," explained Fan.

To solve this, the team experimented repeatedly and found ways to compress the design. Eventually, they reduced the width of the outer surface to 1.26 meters, even narrower than the original plan, making the approximately 80-ton torch tower appear more lightweight and graceful.

The design team visits the construction site of the torch tower in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, in December 2024, to assist with the building and installation work. [Photo courtesy of AADTHU]

The snowflake-shaped base also presented construction challenges. "Each petal of the snowflake has a diameter of more than 10 meters, and no material could cover such a large surface," Fan said. The team struggled to find a suitable cutting method, as various angles would disrupt the aesthetics. After deliberation, Fan suggested making the cut seams resemble snowflake patterns. The creative solution transformed a disadvantage — more than 7,000 small snowflakes were pieced together to form one giant snowflake, creating a vision of swirling snow in the skirt.

With the torch tower intended as a permanent fixture in the Sun Island Scenic Area, the team planned for long-term maintenance by including a recessed space under the base. "After the Games, we will redesign it, potentially turning it into a light sculpture," Fan said. The torch tower is illuminated by more than 20,000 LED lights that can display various patterns – such as snowmen and countdowns – in a range of colors from blue to purple to red.

"If I had to summarize the entire design of the torch tower in two words, I would choose 'art' and 'science,'" Fan said. The design team approached every aspect – from steel structures to lighting – with a rigorous scientific approach, closely cooperating with construction units to overcome technical challenges and realize their artistic vision, Fan explained.

Professor Chen Lei and the Asian Winter Games mascots. [Photo courtesy of AADTHU]

In addition to the cauldron, the academy also undertook multiple design tasks for the Asian Winter Games. A team from the Department of Visual Communication Design, led by chair Professor Chen Lei, designed the emblem and tiger mascots — "Binbin" and "Nini" — for the event.

The emblem, "Breakthrough," combines short track speed skaters, Harbin's lilac and dancing ribbons into a design that blends Chinese culture with Olympic elements. The emblem symbolizes China's ambitions for sports development, its pursuit of greater achievements, and its commitment to growing Asian winter sports.

The emblem design for the 9th Asian Winter Games. [Image courtesy of AADTHU]

The emblem's dynamic skaters reflect the dedication of Asian athletes, highlighting Harbin's status as an "Olympic champion city." Blooming lilacs represent the city's welcoming culture, while festive ribbons look to the past and future, with the sun icon symbolizing Asian unity and aspirations.

The main colors, blue and purple, mimic the refraction of light on ice, capturing the allure of winter sports. The purple gradient echoes the lilac's hue, and the emblem's lines suggest the Chinese character for "九(Nine)," marking the 9th Asian Winter Games. The external lines form a stylized Chinese character for "合 (Harmony)," expressing a desire for cooperation among Asian nations.

The mascots "Binbin" and "Nini," two northeast tigers, embody Harbin's sports and culture as host of the 2025 Asian Winter Games. "Binbin" represents ice sports with winter attire, red scarves, blue gloves and ice skates, while "Nini" symbolizes snow sports in a red jacket with a fur collar and snowboard. Their names — "Binbin," referencing Harbin, and "Nini," meaning "you" in Chinese — welcome visitors.

Inspired by tigers from Heilongjiang's Northeast Tiger Forest Park, their designs incorporate northern Chinese elements like cloth tiger toys and Fangzheng papercutting, reflecting the region's winter culture. Details such as the "king" tiger pattern, snowflake decorations and lilac-patterned gloves highlight Harbin's cultural pride and promote Chinese culture."

Chen Lei and his team pose in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. [Photo courtesy of AADTHU]

Chen's team also designed the Asian Winter Games' color system, core graphics, and sports pictograms. The "Romantic Dreams" color system features hues such as "Crystal Blue," "Lilac Purple," "Range Green," and "Harvest Yellow," and is used for sports icons, urban ambiance and product development.

Inspired by Harbin's ice and snow culture, the core graphics named "A Timely Snow," which derives from the old Chinese saying "A timely snow promises a good harvest" incorporate motifs like the Songhua River, Harbin Grand Theater, snowflakes and frost patterns, using abstract visual language to portray Harbin's identity as the "City of Ice and Snow," "City of Music" and "Olympic Champion City." Following the visual style of the "Breakthrough" emblem, the sports pictograms include 16 designs that represent various sports, reflecting strength, elegance and passion.

Additionally, a team led by Associate Professor Wang Xiaoxin from the Department of Arts and Crafts saw five proposals make the top 10 and two proposals make the top five in the Asian Winter Games medal design competition.

Associate Professor Wang Xiaoxin and his team meet to discuss the Asian Winter Games medal designs. [Photo courtesy of AADTHU]

"AADTHU has a tradition of emphasizing both theory and practice, using projects to drive teaching and research, which is a distinctive feature of our educational approach," explained Ma.

"Since its establishment, AADTHU has participated in many significant projects, including design work for numerous national and international sporting events such as the Olympics. Participation in major projects like the Asian Winter Games not only enhances students' professional skills but also develops their communication and coordination skills, which are extraordinarily meaningful for their growth," he said.

Professor Ma's team also designed the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games cauldron, the "Red Ribbons" sculpture and 11 parade floats on Tiananmen Square in 2019, and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics torch stands.

Ma added that designing for large sporting events has laid a foundation for the academy and reflects its role in "using beauty as a medium to enhance international cultural exchanges."