The largest-ever Asian Winter Games raised its curtain Sunday evening in Changchun, a northeast city in China.

Chinese president Hu Jintao declared open of the sixth Asian Winter Games, which featured all 45 members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) for the first time in its 21-year-old history.

Dignitaries at the opening ceremony included OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah.

North Korea and South Korea marched together under the flag with an image of the Korean peninsula for the second time in the Asian Winter Games, with the first in Aomori, Japan in 2003.

The Games to be co-hosted by Changchun and nearby Jilin cities in China's northeast Jilin province, has been attracting a total of 816 athletes from 26 countries and regions, compared to 741 athletes from 20 members in 2003.

A trio of laser rays flashed to ignite the cauldron after six athletes turned on the three laser equipment.

China's first figure skating world champion Chen Lu and short-track speedskating former Olympic runner-up Li Jiajun are among the six, including five from Jilin.

China fielded in the biggest delegation of 261, including 81 men and 79 women athletes who are going to compete in all the 47 events of five sports during the Jan. 28-Feb. 4 tournament.

Japan dispatched the second largest delegation with over 110 athletes while South Korea as the third biggest. Next host Kazakhstan ranked fourth in the number of delegation members.

However, Japan, who ranked first in the last Games in 2003, is anticipated to top the medals tally again. And China hopes to overtake South Korea from third to second in the tally, according to Chinese deputy chef de mission Cui Dalin.

While the local organizers are setting out to host a full-house Asiad with all OCA members for the first time, China, host to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, has cherished a dream that goes far beyond Asia -- bringing the Winter Olympic Games to the most populous country of 1.3 billion people.

Harbin, capital city of China's another northeast province of Heilongjiang, made the bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Despite its abrupt failure in the first round bidding process in 2002, Harbin is determined to make the 2009 Winter World University Games a success.

"We need organizing experiences for an Olympics, and the World Universiad will be an important stepstone for our eventual bid for the Winter Olympics," said Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau director Zhao Yinggang.

(Source: Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2007)