Innovative Greater Bay Area · IP Paints the National Games

On November 9th, the 15th National Games of China opened, with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao region raising the national flag together, singing the national anthem in unison, and welcoming the Games collectively. This edition of the National Games is the first time the three regions have jointly hosted a large-scale sports event, and also marks the first time the Games have come to Hong Kong and Macao in its history. "Technology" and "Integration" have become the keywords for this Games, presenting a grand event showcasing world-class standards, Chinese style, Lingnan charm, and the appeal of the Bay Area to a vast audience.

Writing the Sci-Tech Innovation Answer Sheet

On the evening of November 9th, inside the Guangdong Olympic Sports Center located by the Pearl River, the gaze of tens of thousands of spectators was drawn to the National Games cauldron flame. Passed by multiple torchbearers from the three regions within the stadium, the flame converged into the "Flame of Unity," igniting the main cauldron for the 15th National Games. The sacred flame, jointly lit by the three regions, illuminates a new vision of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area moving forward hand in hand towards common development.

The flame for this National Games was kindled from combustible ice extracted from a depth of 1,522 meters in the South China Sea. China's self-developed and self-produced deep-sea remote-operated vehicle overcame challenges such as high pressure and low temperatures in the complex deep-sea environment, using technological means to bring this deep-sea "ice" to the surface. This method of collection not only represents a historic breakthrough for global large-scale comprehensive sports events but also demonstrates the "hardcore" strength of China's marine science and technology. Subsequently, ship-borne photovoltaic power generation technology was used to remotely ignite the combustible ice, forming the "Source Fire" – the underwater sacred flame for these Games.

The "raging flames" that the audience saw inside the main cauldron at the opening ceremony were not real fire. Instead, they were a "visible" flame effect created by high-speed mist jets on the main cauldron's fire ring combined with photoelectric technology. Achieving the visual effect of the torch tower truly "burning" required real-time adjustment of the mist volume and lighting brightness based on weather and wind conditions, making the task incredibly challenging. The technical and design teams conducted repeated tests and adjustments to find the perfect solution.

The energy required for the main cauldron's sustained "burning" primarily comes from green electricity generated by distributed photovoltaics. Apart from using the necessary electrical energy, this method does not produce new carbon dioxide. Taking the Guangdong Olympic Sports Center, where the opening ceremony was held, as an example, the estimated electricity consumption during the entire Games period will reach 15 million kilowatt-hours, equivalent to reducing carbon emissions by 14,200 tons. Behind the Green National Games lies the rapid development of China's clean energy and energy storage industries. From the "Flame of Technology" refined and sublimated into the "Sacred Sports Flame," the concepts of a Sci-Tech National Games and a Green National Games were made tangible.

Taking Steps in Integrated Development

The National Games emblem, formed by the overlapping and rotating petals of Guangdong's kapok, Hong Kong's bauhinia, and Macao's lotus, represents the interconnection and integration of the Greater Bay Area. The mascot, designed based on the Chinese white dolphin, a "national treasure of the sea" inhabiting the Pearl River Estuary, symbolizes the three regions sharing the same heart and origin... The main theme of "integration" showcased in the Games' design is also reflected in the intellectual property work.

Starting from the end of June this year, Hong Kong innovators, leveraging the patent rapid pre-examination service provided by the Shenzhen Intellectual Property Protection Center, can effectively shorten the examination period for patent applications filed in the mainland, accelerating the landing and transformation of Hong Kong's scientific research achievements in the mainland, especially within the Greater Bay Area. Through the pilot project for priority examination of invention patent applications in the mainland by Macao SAR applicants, Macao innovators can more conveniently and effectively protect their intellectual property rights in the mainland. As of the end of September this year, Macao had submitted 64 requests for priority examination of mainland patents, with the cycle from application to grant taking as little as 5.3 months.

These measures have injected strong momentum into the integrated development of scientific and technological innovation in the three regions and further promoted in-depth cooperation in IP protection and patent application utilization. As of the end of June this year, the number of valid invention patents authorized by the CNIPA and valid registered trademarks in the Greater Bay Area reached 817,000 and 8.524 million respectively, each accounting for about one-sixth of the national total. In the first half of this year, the CNIPA received 13,500 PCT international patent applications from innovators within the Bay Area, a year-on-year increase of over 30%, fully demonstrating the innovation strength of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The three regions of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao are brimming with innovative vitality. With technology as the wing, green development as the foundation, and intellectual property as the bridge, innovation factors are accelerating their flow and achievements are deeply integrating across the three regions. From the "hardcore" breakthroughs in event technology to the innovation momentum driving regional development, intellectual property has consistently been the core support safeguarding innovation and linking the three regions. In the future, with the continuous deepening of IP protection and cooperation among the three regions, the flame of innovation is bound to burn ever brighter, just like the National Games cauldron flame, injecting inexhaustible momentum into the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.