Hangzhou marks 200 days to Asian Para Games

A series of celebrations were staged on Wednesday night to mark the 200-day countdown to the fourth Asian Para Games, which will be held in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province.

During the celebratory event, a smart sign language platform for the Games was unveiled. Developed by DAMO Academy, one of the R&D arms of the internet giant Alibaba, the platform is powered by advanced technologies like 3D virtual humans and computer vision, and aims to provide more meticulous barrier-free services to spectators with disabilities.

The China Goalball Training Base, the Para Games goalball competition venue, was officially put into operation, equipped with state-of-the-art barrier-free facilities.

The Games' organizing committee, which oversaw the celebrations, also unveiled the Games' countdown clock and kicked off a campaign which will see over a thousand cultural and sports activities hosted in communities and neighborhoods.

Preparations for the Games have entered the final stage. So far, construction work on 19 venues has been completed, 17 of which are shared with the Asian Games. Two are independent.

The Games will be held from Oct 9 to 15. Athletes will compete for 564 gold medals in 22 events.

Zhang Jiabi contributed to the story.