A giant, floating, mythical fish puppet at the National Games’ opening ceremony on Sunday captured the hearts of the live audience and those watching on television, in a show that also featured performances by Hong Kong pop stars, the lighting of the game’s cauldron and more.
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Spectators of the ceremony, which kick-started the 13-day quadrennial event at the Guangdong Olympic Sports Centre, rushed to the social media platform RedNote to share close-up clips of the luminous, colourful puppet gliding mid-air across the venue.
“The appearance of the mythical fish was stunning, the whole stadium gasped when it was lit up,” a user of the app known as the Chinese version of Instagram yap! said, with other users adding that the realistic flowing motions looked like computer-generated special effects.
Other comments in awe of the “magical” act expressed intrigue and delight in equal measure, including “it looked like it was embodying a soul”, “both the aesthetic and technical aspects are on point”, and “it’s giving me goosebumps”.
The fish is manipulated by a group of around 20 puppeteers walking on the ground, with the structure and fabric used to create a lifelike effect of fins in water as it floats metres above them.
The mythological creature has been part of southern Chinese folklore for hundreds of years, and is often seen on the roofs of buildings made with glazed ceramic tiles and believed to be an auspicious symbol.
