South Korean athletes and officials take part in the opening ceremony for the ninth Asian Winter Games at Harbin International Conference, Exhibition and Sports Centre in Harbin, China, Feb. 7. Yonhap

The ninth Asian Winter Games opened in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, Friday, with a celebration of athletes from across the continent.

Hosting the Winter Asiad for the second time under the motto, "Dream of Winter, Love among Asia," Harbin will be home to nearly 1,300 athletes from 34 countries over the next seven days. Curling, hockey and short track speed skating have already had some preliminary action in the days leading up to Friday's ceremony.

This is the first Asian Winter Games since 2017 in Sapporo, Japan.

South Korea has sent 148 athletes for all six sports — skiing, skating, curling, hockey, biathlon and ski mountaineering. There are 64 gold medals up for grabs in 11 disciplines.

The opening ceremony for the ninth Asian Winter Games is under way at Harbin International Conference, Exhibition and Sports Centre in Harbin, China, Feb. 7. Yonhap

In 2017, South Korea won 16 gold medals to set its Asian Winter Games record and finished in second place behind Japan in the medal race. It will try to finish in the top two again and reach doubles figures in the gold medal tally.

Based on the English alphabet of the country's official names, South Korea, as the Republic of Korea, was the 13th nation to march into the ceremony at the Harbin International Conference, Exhibition and Sports Centre. Male hockey player Lee Chong-min and female curler Gim Eun-ji were the co-flag bearers for South Korea.

North Korea is also participating in this event, with only three athletes — all of them figure skaters — in action.

Some of China's most accomplished athletes covered the final stretch of the torch relay before the lilac-shaped cauldron was lit at Harbin Ice and Snow World, the sub venue of the opening ceremony and the world's largest ice and snow theme park.

Yang Yang, former short track star and China's first Winter Olympic gold medalist, delivered the torch to Han Xiaopeng, the first male Winter Olympic champion for China. Wang Zhen, who won the men's 20-kilometer walking race gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games, was up next.

Then Zhang Hong, the 2014 Olympic champion in the women's 1,000m speed skating race, took the torch to the cauldron, surrounded by children, and ignited it.

The design of the 28m-tall cauldron tower was inspired by the lilac, Harbin's official flower. With the curves of the flower intertwining with the form of a snowflake, the cauldron has been designed to reflect Harbin's inclusive nature.

With Chinese President Xi Jinping on hand, South Korea's top delegate was National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik. Ryu Seung-min, an Olympic table tennis champion recently elected as new president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, also attended the ceremony, joined by Sports Minister Yu In-chon.

The medal race will begin Saturday, with South Korea set to battle Japan in the mixed doubles curling final and also looking to grab multiple medals in short track speed skating. (Yonhap)