Guiyang ready for Chinese National Ethnic Games
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Xinhua, September 14, 2011
Capital city Guiyang of Southwest China's Guizhou province has got everything ready for the ninth Chinese Traditional Games of Ethnic Nationalities, slated on Spetember 10-18, said a senior official of the local organizing committee on Friday.
"We are so excited that the quadrennial Chinese National Ethnic Games are to be unveiled tomorrow evening," said Wang Fuyu, deputy president of the event's organizing committee, at the last press conference ahead of the opening ceremony to be held at the newly constructed Olympic Center Stadium of Guiyang on Saturday.
With a biggest ever participation, some 6,700 athletes of 34 delegations from various Chinese provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, the Chinese army PLA and Taiwan will represent 55 minority nationalities of China, the multi-national country, besides the largest nationality the Hans.
On the Games program are a total of 16 medal events, including archery, wrestling, martial arts and horse racing, as well as 168 demonstration events.
Around 75,000 volunteers, 40,000 of whom will be in service outside the competing venues, have been summoned to serve the ethnic games, which has been initiated since 1953 as the first ever multi-sports event with the first edition staging in North China's most important port Tianjin.
"We've came through a tough time as the southwestern province has been fighting against a severe lingering drought this summer, and have dealt with financial difficulties since the authority never wanted to burden the taxpayers with hosting the National Ethnic Games," Wang said.
"All that were demanded for the event, however, have just been well met.
"We have built a grand stadium with a capability of 60,000 seats and rejuvenated 17 venues of the former ones," he added. "We adorned the roads and streets, refreshed the city image, and minded our citizens to behave and show good manners. Everything is ready."
