-- Beijing 2022 organizers unveiled an ethereal yet dynamic torch design to mark the one-year countdown to the Games.

-- The unveiling of the torch was yet another demonstration of China's smooth preparations for the 2022 Games, despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

-- The global sporting community has given Beijing 2022 a resounding vote of confidence.

By sportswriters Wang Meng, Su Bin and Ji Ye

BEIJING, Feb. 4  -- Beijing will light the Olympic flame for a second time with a blazing ribbon after organizers unveiled an ethereal yet dynamic torch design to mark the one-year countdown to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games here on Thursday evening.

The torch, named as "Flying," debuted at a ceremony in Beijing's iconic 2008 Summer Games venue, the National Aquatics Center, marking the start of the 365-day countdown to the opening of the Games on February 4 next year.

The photo taken on Feb. 4, 2021 shows a countdown display at the Beijing Olympic Park in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

"To introduce the torch at the start of the one-year countdown, we expect to kindle the enthusiasm and anticipation for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games all around the world," said Wang Xiangyu, a deputy director of the Culture and Ceremonies Department of the Beijing 2022 organizing committee.

"The successful design of the torch has proved again that the Olympics always sets the stage for the integration of sports, culture, art and science," Wang said.