Taking stock of the changes in China's Olympic award uniforms, the "Tenglong" from more than 20 years ago was so avant-garde!

Audit expert: Liu Li, Dean of the Fashion Technology Research Institute of Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology

The Paris Olympics is about to open, and Chinese Olympic athletes are ready to go. On June 25, the award uniforms of the Chinese sports delegation for the 2024 Paris Olympics were released at the Beijing Shougang No. 3 Blast Furnace.

2024 Paris Olympic Games Chinese sports delegation awards uniforms released Source: Xinhua News Agency

It is understood that the award-winning uniforms of the Chinese sports delegation innovatively use elements such as "dragon scales" and "dragon whiskers", and combine them with embossing patterns, splicing, embroidery and other techniques. While conveying the traditional Chinese cultural heritage to the world, it also shows the hard-working, enterprising and vigorous spirit of Chinese athletes in the new era!

Design of the award uniforms for the Chinese sports delegation at the 2024 Paris Olympics Source: Xinhua News Agency

This award-winning suit is not only eye-catching, but also contains a lot of green technology in the production process. The production process uses environmentally friendly fabrics such as recycled nylon and recycled polyester , achieving more than 50% carbon emission reduction. It is China's carbon neutral Olympic award-winning suit certified by an authoritative organization !

Design of the award uniforms for the Chinese sports delegation at the 2024 Paris Olympics Source: Xinhua News Agency

Green technology in award-winning uniforms

Recycled Nylon Recycled Polyester

Recycled nylon and recycled polyester are both environmentally friendly fabrics, and the definition of environmentally friendly fabrics is actually very broad, which is also due to the extensive definition of fabrics. Generally, environmentally friendly fabrics can be considered as low-carbon and energy-saving, naturally free of harmful substances, environmentally friendly and recyclable fabrics .

Environmentally friendly fabrics can be roughly divided into two categories: daily environmentally friendly fabrics and industrial environmentally friendly fabrics . Daily environmentally friendly fabrics are generally composed of recycled polyester fabrics, organic cotton, bamboo fiber, soybean protein fiber, hemp fiber, log Tencel and other fabrics. The recycled polyester fabric used in the award-winning uniforms of the Chinese sports delegation is a daily environmentally friendly fabric.

Industrial environmentally friendly fabrics are made of inorganic non-metallic materials such as PVC and metal materials, and achieve the effects of environmental protection, energy saving and recycling in actual use.

Recycled polyester fabric is a new type of recycled environmentally friendly fabric, the full name is Recycled PET Fabric (abbreviated as RPET), its raw material is RPET yarn made from recycled PET bottles through quality inspection separation-slicing-spinning, cooling and gathering, commonly known as Coke bottle environmentally friendly fabric. This fabric can be recycled and reused, which can save energy, oil consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

“Dual Carbon”

Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality

The production process of the award-winning uniforms of the Chinese sports delegation at the 2024 Olympic Games uses environmentally friendly fabrics such as recycled nylon and recycled polyester. This process achieves a carbon emission reduction of more than 50% . It is also China's carbon-neutral Olympic award-winning equipment certified by an authoritative organization.

When it comes to environmental protection, we have to mention carbon dioxide emissions. We often hear the term "carbon neutrality", what does it mean?

Carbon peak and carbon neutrality are collectively referred to as "dual carbon". Carbon peak refers to the period when carbon emissions enter a plateau and then enter a steady decline; carbon neutrality refers to the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions directly or indirectly generated by an enterprise, group or individual within a certain period of time, and the carbon dioxide emissions generated by itself are offset by afforestation, energy conservation and emission reduction, etc., to achieve "zero carbon dioxide emissions".

The evolution of award uniforms for Chinese sports delegations

Looking back at history, the Chinese sports delegation achieved a "zero" breakthrough at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. In subsequent Olympic Games, the "Chinese miracle" has continued to occur, and the figures of the athletes wearing championship uniforms have been deeply engraved in the hearts of the people of the motherland!

23rd Los Angeles Olympic Games

The award-winning athletes wore award-winning uniforms of the "Meihua" brand produced independently in my country. The design of the entire garment reminded people of the five-star red flag. This suit, together with the glory of the Olympic gold medal, has become an eternal memory in the hearts of a generation.

Xu Haifeng, the champion of the men's 60-shot slow-fire pistol at the Los Angeles Olympics, achieved a breakthrough in my country's Olympic medal record

The 24th Seoul Olympic Games

The Chinese delegation wore blue and white striped award-winning uniforms, which created a blue whirlwind in Seoul (later renamed Seoul) at the time. The unique color combination seemed particularly youthful and energetic.

Chinese players Chen Jing, Li Huifang and Jiao Zhimin took the top three spots in women's singles table tennis at the Seoul Olympics

25th Barcelona Olympic Games

The Olympic award-winning uniforms continue the traditional classic red and yellow color combination, with the word "China" still appearing on the left chest.

Wang Yifu, champion of men's 10m air pistol at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics

26th Atlanta Olympic Games

The number of elements used in the design of award uniforms increased. The award uniforms were star-studded, and the overall design of red, yellow and white further highlighted the sunny and confident look of the athletes. Since then, award uniforms have begun to add design colors and elements.

1996 Atlanta Olympic table tennis women's doubles champion Deng Yaping and Qiao Hong

The 27th Sydney Olympic Games

The award-winning uniform has been carefully designed with great attention to detail. The soaring dragon on the chest is very imposing, and the "Champion Dragon Uniform" is beginning to show its name for the first time.

2000 Sydney Olympics badminton women's doubles Chinese athletes took the top three places

28th Athens Olympic Games

The award-winning uniform is themed on Chinese red, combining traditional Chinese culture with natural landscapes, the Olympic emblem, the Olympic flame and other elements, cleverly integrating them into the design of the entire uniform. This set of uniforms is called "Splendid China".

2004 Athens Olympic Men's 110m Hurdles Champion Liu Xiang

2004 Athens Olympic Women's Diving 3-meter Springboard Champion Guo Jingjing

The 29th Beijing Olympic Games

China brought the world a "Green Olympics, Science and Technology Olympics, and Humanistic Olympics", pushing the Olympic Games to a new peak. The main colors of the award-winning uniforms are derived from the red and yellow colors of the national flag, and the "rising auspicious clouds" pattern is set above the chest, which is in line with the overall visual effect of the Beijing Olympics.

2008 Beijing Olympic Men's Table Tennis Team Champions Wang Liqin, Wang Hao, Ma Lin

30th London Olympic Games

2012 is the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Dragon. The award-winning uniform uses large areas of red, yellow and white blocks, and fully integrates the element of "dragon". The entire "dragon" character winds from the left shoulder to the left sleeve, revealing domineering in its uniqueness.

2012 London Olympics Chinese men's gymnastics team defends title

31st Rio Olympic Games

The core concept of the "Champion Dragon Suit" revolves around the traditional Chinese spiritual totem "dragon", using the illusion effect of modern neon lights and combining it with paper-cutting art to create a "light and shadow dragon" shape. In addition, the dragon's body is combined with running movements to form a posture of "never stop, keep moving forward".

The 32nd Tokyo Olympic Games

The award-winning suit adopts a "red + white" color scheme. Red represents sharpness, directness, and positivity, while white represents the "white space" of Chinese wisdom. Although there are no specific symbolic elements, the round and upright design of the Tang suit fully demonstrates the Chinese charm, and the slim cut brings out the "spirit".

2021 Tokyo Olympics diving men's synchronized 3-meter springboard champion Xie Siyi and Wang Zongyuan

Over the past years, the award-winning uniforms of the Chinese sports delegation have appeared in Olympic venues such as Beijing, London, Rio, and Tokyo. Accompanied by the majestic national anthem and the rising five-star red flag, Chinese Olympic athletes proudly stand at the top of the world wearing the "champion dragon uniforms" that symbolize glory and dreams!

The Chinese team is about to set off for the 2024 Paris Olympics. I wish the Chinese sports delegation more success.

Let us cheer for the Chinese team together!