Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre for the ecological and cultural Asian Games

Fuyang is a city in the northern part of China’s Zhejiang province with a long, rich history. An important financial centre with a population of over 7 million, Fuyang is also renowned for its natural beauty, with panoramic mountain landscapes, rivers and luxuriant vegetation. This is where the 19th Asian Games will take place between 23 September and 8 October: the third time the Games have been held in China, after the 1990 Games in Beijing and the 2010 Games in Guangzhou.
The theme of sustainability underlies the projects implemented for this important sporting event. For this reason, the architectural design team from Zhejiang University's Architectural Design & Research Institute, UAD built the venue for the shooting, archery and modern pentathlon disciplines with the greatest respect for the requirements imposed by the various sporting disciplines and the natural setting of Fuyang.



Surrounded by mountains to the west and the north and bordered with water to the south, the site is located in a strategic position for capturing the essence of the landscape around it. The design is inspired by the work of ancient Chinese artists such as Su Shi and Huang Gongwang, reflecting profound links with nature and harmonious coexistence with the environment.
The installation, one of 12 new facilities built for the 19th Asian Games in 2023, extends over an area measuring fully 275,182 m2, including 82,360.35 m2 of indoor floor space. Hosting three key events, shooting, archery and modern pentathlon, the facility offers a compact, functional layout to efficiently receive flows of competitors and spectators.



The architectural vision comes to life through a modern reinterpretation of traditional elements. The design of the building’s façade, inspired by Huang Gongwang’s masterpiece "Dwelling in the Fuchun mountains", embraces the building’s simplicity and integrity with the nature around it.
Moreover, the design team gives priority to ecological materials and low-tech building methods, demonstrating an innovative sustainable approach. They used standard low-cost modular components to obtain notable effects of light and shadow on the building’s surfaces, reproducing the enchanting scenario along the Fuchun River.
After the Asian Games are over, Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre will continue to function thanks to its adaptability, an important aspect of the project because, despite major investment in gyms and stadiums, usage rates are often disappointing. The building strategy permits potential transformation of the centre into spaces for a variety of popular sporting activities, guaranteeing its continued usability and relevance after the games and encouraging the public to participate in a variety of sporting disciplines ranging from ping-pong to swimming. Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre thus becomes a valuable asset for the entire community, offering a space for sporting activities for all.



This is why the architects of UAD took every aspect into consideration, from planning of the use of space to the choice of structures, to maximise the facility’s usefulness after the event. The spectator stands are designed to be temporary, made of steel and easy to reposition elsewhere after the Games are over.
\ With less than two months to go until the opening of the Asian Games, Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre offers a virtuous demonstration of how the principles of design for sports can be reconciled with Hangzhou’s rich cultural heritage. Attentive integration with the landscape and a sustainable approach to design ensure that UAD’s new facility is destined to make a lasting impression on the athletes and spectators alike and give the population a new place for sports, all while highlighting the beauty and charm of the host city, Fuyang.

Christiane Bürklein

Project: ACRC, The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University
Location: Fuyang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang
Year: 2021
Photography: Zhao Qiang
Videography: Wu Qingshan