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Introduction

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It feels as though we’ve been talking about this moment for months, but the opening ceremony for the National Games finally arrived and served up a celebration to remember.

Organisers had vowed to blend cutting-edge technology with the rich cultural heritage of southern China’s Lingnan culture, and that is what unfolded at Guangdong Olympic Sports Centre.

The sporting action had already started, and on Sunday cyclist Ceci Lee Sze-wing grabbed Hong Kong’s second gold medal of the Games, successfully defending the women’s road race title she won in Shaanxi four years ago.

The city’s men, meanwhile, have put handball into the public consciousness with a spirited run that wasended by Anhui only in the semi-finals on Saturday. They still have a shot at bronze on Monday.

There is plenty more to come over the next two weeks, with Cheung Ka-long, Siobhan Haughey and Coleman Wong Chak-lam all carrying the weight of the city’s expectations on their shoulders.

Tonight, though, was all about the pomp and circumstance of the opening ceremony. Read on for full coverage of the pageantry as it happened in Guangzhou.