The largest ever Asian Games lowered its curtain in a festive closing ceremony on Saturday night as host China showed its overwhelming prowess by sweeping 199 gold medals.

China, which also won 119 silver and 98 bronze, topped the table for the eighth straight time, smashing its best gold tally of 183, set in the 1990 Beijing Games.

Thirty-six out of the 45 participating teams medaled in the 16-day games, in which South Korea garnered 232 medals including 76 gold, beating Japan into a distant third with 48 gold among 216 medals.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia, declared the Games closed in front of nearly 30,000 spectators on the island.

 (Xinhua News Agency November 27, 2010)