On the evening of August 8, the opening ceremony of the 14th Sichuan Provincial Sports Meeting was staged at Leshan Olympic Center.Land of Chinese flowering crabapple, Tonghe river shanty, Emei martialarts…the impressive "expression" of Leshan interspersed throughout the show. After the opening ceremony, the general director Bai Xiaoxu unveiled to news reporters the creative ideas of "Leshan characters, Sichuan flavor" in the programs.

Bai Xiaoxu, the general director of the opening ceremony of Provincial Sports Meeting

"The charm of Leshan inspired my creation." According to Xiaoxu Bai, this city with three rivers and Emei mountain has so much cultural imagery that could be explored. "Emei mountain is spiritual and beautiful, the Giant Buddha is majestic, and the food ‘is tempting'." Talking about the overall conception of the show, he admits that these elements make Leshan a city with cultural heritage and a human touch. "So I decided that the performance should contain a collision between the depth of history and the breadth of reality,” said Bai.

"‘Romance' is an exaggerated imagination supported by a realistic skeleton." Bai told reporters that the four chapters of the show, "Blossoms of the Land", "The Wise Loves the Water", "The Benevolent Loves the Mountain" and "One Heart, One Music, One Dream", all use elements of Leshan to tell the "romantic" story of the land. "Born in Leshan, it also tells the story of the 'Great Sichuan'."

In the prologue "Blossoms of the Land", Bai Xiaoxu chose the city flower of Leshan, the Chinese flowering crabapple, as the most intuitive visual representation of "romance". "My intention is to use flowers as a metaphor for people, that every Sichuanese is a flower. " He explains that in addition to flowering crabapple, flowers such as hibiscus and Chinese rose representing other cities and states in Sichuan Province also appeared in this chapter, so the visual imagery directly conveys the vibrant and dynamic nature of Sichuan.

With a cry, the Tonghe river chanty in the second chapter of the performance resonates, awakening the audience's ancient memories of the rivers. "Leshan is where the three rivers converge, and every river course has left stories of struggles with water." According to Bai Xiaoxu, Sichuan, which is abundant with big rivers, has stories between people and rivers everywhere. The history of our ancestors who built the dams and fought against the wind and waves is highly romantic and conveys the indomitable struggle of the Sichuan people.

"The twists and turns of the chapters also imply metaphors." Bai Xiaoxu described. "A drop of water in the prologue nurtures a flower, which grows, and in the third chapter the flowers transform into a bamboo forest on Mount Emei, where the theme of life cascades to the climax of romance in the majestic performance of Emei martial arts."

"The sound of the drums can fuels athletes' passion for competition and also motivate peopleto face up to difficulties." In the design of the finale "One Heart, One Music, One Dream", Bai Xiaoxu also expressed his will to inspire people with his art, "I hope to use the sound of the drums to convey positive energy and convince people that we can overcome the epidemic."