Olympic heroes spread joy and laughter in Hong Kong and Macao

The energy and positivity of the visiting team China astonishes the audience during festive events

Long Daoyi’s presence at the Macao East Asian Games Dome immediately generated enthusiasm among the audience.

With the microphone gripped in one hand and the other hand moving to the beat, he shouted with confidence, “Dragon One on stage now!”

His lyrics hit as hard as the beat, his sneakers click in perfect rhythm, his shoulders roll, his head nods – every movement dominates the moment.

But there was something that set this rapper apart from the rest: he wasn’t dressed in the usual streetwear. Instead, he proudly wore the Olympic uniform of Team China.

After winning gold with Wang Zongyuan in the men’s 3m springboard in Paris in 2024, Long was there to impress in a different way.

The gala event where Long performed was on September 1 in Macao. It was one of a number of stops made by 65 mainland Olympians — including 59 gold medalists from the Paris Olympics — to Hong Kong and Macao from August 29 to September 2.

The visits were part of a long-standing tradition that has seen mainland Olympic medallists tour Hong Kong and Macao after the Summer Olympics to showcase the Olympic spirit and connect with local communities.

More than 4,200 tickets for the gala were given to Macau residents through a lottery system.

Faced with such a large audience, Long said he was nervous but excited. “I feel honored to be performing here and I’m grateful for the opportunity to show who I am,” he said.

Men with many talents

Long, who enjoys singing and rapping, has released five singles on the music platform NetEase Cloud under his stage name Dragon One. He wrote two of the songs himself.

“Singing helps me relax after training,” he said.

Long bought some recording equipment, recorded the songs in his dorm room, did some basic editing, and then uploaded them to the platform.

In July, he released an original rap song expressing his determination to win gold at the Paris Olympics. The lyrics read: “I wear the gold medal like a gold chain.”

On August 2, that dream came true for the 21-year-old Olympic debutant when he stood on the podium alongside teammate Wang.

“While we put most of our time and effort into training with the goal of bringing honor to our country, we can still be versatile,” Long said.

“I want to show that the members of Team China not only excel in our sports, but also have a variety of other skills. At this gala, a few of us had the chance to show those talents, but many more of our teammates have hidden skills and another side outside the competitive field,” he said.

During the gala, many Olympians showed off their other talents: rhythmic gymnasts and synchronized swimmers performed dance routines, while swimmers, weightlifters, canoeists and hockey players sang popular songs.

Chinese Olympic and world table tennis champion Fan Zhendong gave an a cappella performance of a Cantonese song by Hong Kong singer/actress Miriam Yeung.

That night, Yeung shared the video of Fan’s performance on Sina Weibo, praising his singing and expressing interest in singing with him someday. She also invited Fan to watch her performance during her current tour if he has time.

At the Olympic Games in Paris, Fan, who became famous at a young age, won the men’s table tennis title.

At the age of 27, he completed his “Grand Slam” by winning the World Championship, World Cup and Olympic titles.