2010 Asian Games opening ceremony officially began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time ( UTC +8 ) on November 12 , 2010 . The ceremony took place along the Pearl River on Haixinsha Island , mark it the first time in history that the ceremony was held outside the stadium . In front of 30,000 spectators , it lasted four hours , featured about 6,000 performers , with at least 40,000 of fireworks . The ceremony was choreographed by Chen Weiya ( 陈维亚 ) , who was assistant director to Zhang Yimou in 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony and filmed by Guangzhou Asian Games Broadcasting ( GAB )
2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
2010 Asian Games opening ceremony