President Hu Jintao
yesterday announced the opening of the 10th National Games at the
Olympic Stadium in Nanjing, capital of the eastern province of
Jiangsu, the last National Games before the 2008 Olympic Games in
Beijing.
The 12-day Games, the largest since 1959, will feature 9,985
athletes from 46 delegations competing across 357 events in 32
sports.
At a press conference prior to the opening, vice-director of the
State General Administration of Sports, Xiao Tian, emphasized the
significance of the event.
"It has very important tasks of rehearsal for the Olympic Games
in 2008, and we have done much for that," he said.
According to Xiao, all 28 Olympic sports have a place in the
Games, and younger athletes have been encouraged to take part in
the competitions to give them a better chance of being selected for
the Olympics.
Staff from the Sports Department of Beijing's Olympic organizing
committee have worked with colleagues in Nanjing in putting
together the National Games, collecting valuable experience for the
Olympics, according to China Daily today.
The paper also said media organizations have started making
their own preparations for covering the 2008 event, sending large
numbers of journalists to the National Games.
Finals had already been held for 16 events, including boxing,
diving and fencing, before the opening ceremony.
Another 10 finals took place last night including tennis,
volleyball and table tennis and by today, 113 gold medals had been
won in 110 events.
Teams from all over the country took part in the parade,
including athletes from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative
regions.
A three-part performance was given by thousands of performers,
each section themed around a symbolic color.
The first section was named "Building Resplendence," which
mainly featured red lights, representing the Chinese nation's
development.
The second, "Splendid Jiangsu," in green, was symbolic of the
natural scenery of the Province.
The third, "Strength of the Divine Land," was mainly lit with
orange, changing to all the colors of the rainbow, symbolic of the
inclusive nature of the Games.
(China Daily October 13, 2005)
