How Chinese elements shine at Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics

MILAN, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- From alpine venues in the snow-dusted Italian mountains to the streets of Milan, the 2026 Winter Olympics have drawn global attention. They have also highlighted a growing Chinese presence, on the ice and beyond it.

China has dispatched a 286-member delegation to Milan-Cortina, the country's largest overseas Winter Olympics delegation to date. The size of the team reflects sporting ambition, and a confidence shaped since Beijing staged the Games four years ago.

On snow and ice, Chinese athletes have delivered moments of grit and breakthrough. Snowboarder Su Yiming opened China's medal account with a bronze in the men's big air, completing a full set of Olympic medals. Freeski star Gu Ailing claimed silver medals in the women's slopestyle and big air, while speed skater Ning Zhongyan earned China's first-ever Olympic medal in the men's 1,000 meters.

The roar of Beijing 2022 has gradually faded, but China's imprint on the Olympic movement has not. It has expanded into technology, culture and daily Olympic life, and Milan-Cortina has offered a clear snapshot of how Chinese elements continue to resonate on the global stage.

TECHNOLOGY EMPOWERING THE GAMES

A visit to the official Milan-Cortina 2026 website offers an immediate clue. It features Olympic AI, described as the first official large language model deployed at an Olympics. The system is built on Qwen, a foundation model developed by Chinese tech company Alibaba.

"Thanks to Alibaba's cloud technology and Qwen, Milano Cortina 2026 will be the most intelligent Games in history, delivering smart operations, deeper engagement and new possibilities for the Olympic movement," IOC President Kirsty Coventry said.

For delegations navigating vast volumes of rules on accreditation, accommodation and logistics, language barriers have long been a quiet challenge.

Powered by Qwen's multilingual capabilities across 119 languages, Olympic AI allows team officials and athletes to ask questions in their native tongues and receive instant answers, easing preparations and daily operations.

Inside the Olympic Village, Alibaba Cloud's AI-powered pin-trading station has become a social hub. Featuring a ball pool filled with badge capsules and robotic arms, it turns a long-standing Olympic tradition into a playful, technology-driven experience.

Athletes place one of their pins into a capsule, release it into the pool, then use gestures or voice commands in their native languages to control a robotic arm and retrieve another. Powered by AI-driven gesture and speech recognition, the setup combines technology with the suspense of a blind draw.

For viewers worldwide, Chinese innovation is also shaping how sports are shown. At high speeds, snow events can be difficult for broadcasters, from tracking athletes across white terrain to presenting complex aerial movements clearly.

At Milan-Cortina 2026, broadcasters are using a system developed by Chinese engineers that produces "bullet-time" freeze frames. It allows footage to pause, rotate around an athlete in midair and replay sequences from multiple angles.

The technology has been deployed across 10 venues, covering more than two-thirds of all competitions, including alpine skiing, ski jumping and ice hockey. As athletes chase margins of 0.01 seconds, these systems, built from code and data rather than muscle, have become part of the Games.

Chinese brands are also visible across Milan and the Alps. At Piazza del Duomo, global Olympic partner TCL lit an Olympics-themed tree repurposed from northern Italy, and built a winter park featuring five continental-themed ice houses. Inside, visitors can view displays including LED televisions inspired by classical opera houses.

"It can immerse viewers in figure skating as if they are seated rinkside," said TCL Technology CEO Wang Cheng, adding that TCL has supplied smart infrastructure across venues and the Olympic Village, from screens and sound systems to AR and VR devices.

"Milan-Cortina 2026 is just the beginning," Wang said. "The technological innovation brought by Chinese companies will continue to inject new momentum into global sport."

Even beyond venues, "Made in China" is easy to spot, from official mascot tags to apparel in Livigno, and from electric vehicles to smartphones, reflecting the depth of Sino-Italian commercial ties.

CULTURAL RESONANCE

While technology provides the structure, culture provides the atmosphere.

At the Olympic Village, some athletes unfamiliar with Chinese have learned to write the character "Fu", a symbol of good fortune, in the hope it might bring them luck in competition. Others rang small bells to wish each other a happy Chinese New Year.

That spirit of exchange has also flowed through China House, one of the Games' main platforms for cultural outreach. Since opening on February 4, it has drawn international visitors and local residents.

In its exhibition halls, Italian spectators have tried ice-themed paper cutting, knot-tying and sugar figurine crafting. Traditional Chinese calligraphy, seal carving and couplets sit alongside Italian design elements, creating a quiet conversation between cultures.

A Chinese sports culture exhibition running throughout the Games also showcases more than 60 artifacts from the Chinese Sports Museum. Through images, relics and immersive displays, it traces China's long relationship with ice and snow, not only as competition, but as leisure and everyday life.

The exhibition also highlights traditional sports such as martial arts, dragon boat racing and equestrianism. With 2026 marking the Year of the Horse in the Chinese lunar calendar, horse-themed artifacts underline the place of riding and archery in ancient China.

Fashion has also become a conduit. At the opening ceremony, several national delegations marched in down jackets by Chinese brands such as Anta, Li-Ning and Peak, with designs quickly gaining traction online.

Chinese-designed competition and podium outfits, infused with modern interpretations of traditional Chinese aesthetics, have created runway-like moments among athletes.

Gu brought that vision onto the slopes. She turned heads in a self-designed competition outfit inspired by blue-and-white Chinese porcelain, embroidered with a golden Chinese dragon.

"I wanted something really cultural and tangible," she said. "Something people could immediately recognize and think, 'That's a Chinese element.'" The dragon, she added, symbolized "strength, courage and power."

Cultural exchange has extended into recovery rooms. Swiss freestyle skier Mathilde Gremaud, who successfully defended her Olympic slopestyle title, has joined a growing list of elite athletes experimenting with traditional Chinese cupping therapy.

"I find it really useful," she said, echoing interest previously shown by athletes such as Michael Phelps. "It helps release muscle tension quickly."

On the figure skating stage, Chinese classical melodies have also been heard across the ice. Pieces such as Butterfly Lovers have been chosen by overseas skaters as competition music, reflecting how Chinese music continues to travel across borders.

Under the spotlights of the opening ceremony, cultural exchange reached a crescendo. As the Olympic flame awaited ignition, Chinese pianist Lang Lang performed alongside Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli.

"It's a very special moment," Lang said. "Especially now, during the Chinese New Year period. The Chinese New Year has become a symbol of connection between East and West, a vibrant time for Chinese culture to shine and be shared with the world."