The highly anticipated 31st FISU World University Games commenced in Chengdu, China, becoming the first major international sports event held in the post-epidemic era in the country. The games officially kicked off in a vibrant ceremony, with the cauldron ignited on Friday evening. The event holds significant importance as it symbolizes solidarity and friendship, fostering exchanges and understanding between young individuals from diverse nations.
Chengdu, known for its rich history, adorable pandas, warm locals, and delicious Sichuan cuisine, has added the grand sports event to its already impressive name card. Observers believe that the Chengdu Universiade will serve as a unifying platform for people worldwide who cherish peace, stability, and prosperity, in contrast to the divisive actions of some Western politicians.
The opening ceremony commenced with a breathtaking fireworks display, followed by a mesmerizing singing performance led by a girl from the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan. Notably, the Chinese mainland delegation, comprising over 700 people, received a warm standing ovation as the host nation delegation, marching last during the parade of university sports delegations from various countries and regions.
The Universiade has attracted participation from 113 countries and regions, with over 6,500 athletes competing in 18 sports. The Chinese delegation alone comprises more than 700 individuals, including 411 athletes from over 100 universities.
To ensure maximum student participation despite the pandemic’s challenges, FISU raised the maximum age limit of participants from 25 to 27. The event promises to be a celebration of sportsmanship and cultural exchange, fostering international camaraderie and mutual understanding among participants.
President of the Organizing Committee of the Chengdu Universiade, Huai Jinpeng, and FISU Acting President, Leonz Eder, delivered their inspiring speeches at the ceremony, surrounded by flags of the participating delegations. The games will continue from July 28 to August 8, offering a spectacle of athleticism and cultural diversity on the international stage.
“Thank you, Chengdu!” Leonz Eder said in Chinese.
Chinese President Xi Jinping then declared the Chengdu Games open at the Dong’an Lake Sports Park Stadium to the largest cheer of the night.
Ye Guangfu, a taikonaut from China’s Shenzhou-13 manned spaceflight, appeared at the opening ceremony as the main torchbearer and ignited the cauldron along with 30 other torchbearers.
Photo: Chen Tao/GT
Power of youth
At a banquet to welcome guests attending the World University Games opening ceremony on Friday, President Xi said that the World University Games has always been a celebration of youth, solidarity and friendship, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Xi called on young people from around the globe to join hands to promote world peace and development, expressing hope that young people worldwide take the opportunity of the Chengdu Universiade to enhance mutual understanding and inject new impetus into human progress.
FISU Universiade, which was first held during the Cold War in 1959, not only wants young people to adopt a healthy lifestyle, but also seeks to promote young people communicating across cultural, political and religious barriers through sports, Ren Hai, a professor at the Olympic Research Center of Beijing Sports University, told the Global Times.
Through sports, young people can learn that they should not only cherish their own culture, but also respect other cultures, as the world should be diverse and inclusive, Ren said, “This coincides with the Chinese idea of ‘seeking common ground while reserving differences’.”
Observers believe that at a time when some politicians in the US and the West are confronting China with Cold War mentality, the Universiade, as a form of civilian exchange, will help rally a wider range of peace-loving people to resist irrational politicians who create divisions.
The gap between Western elites and the general public is deep. Their confrontational mentality against China runs counter to the aspirations of the general public for peace and stability, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.
China offers a positive option of exchanges and common development between countries, which is quite different from the approach of division and confrontation that some US and Western politicians obsessively pursue, experts said.
Photo: Chen Tao/GT
Sincerity and hospitality
Chengdu, as a cultural city with over 2,300 years of history, has long been a hub of exchanges connecting China to the rest of the world, like “a pearl on the southwestern Silk Road,” President Xi said at the welcome banquet on Friday.
On Friday, Xi encouraged people to tour the city of Chengdu and experience and share firsthand the multifaceted manifestations of the Chinese modernization.
Chengdu is the third city on the Chinese mainland to host the biennial FISU Summer Games, following Beijing in 2001 and Shenzhen in 2011. It is also the first time a city in China’s western region has hosted a comprehensive international sports event.
It’s worth noting that out of the 49 venues of the Chengdu FISU Games, only 13 were newly constructed, and the other 36 venues are repurposed and upgraded buildings. Throughout the process, green and energy-saving measures were promoted, along with prioritizing the use of environmentally friendly building materials.
Chengdu enjoyed sunny weather on Friday, with special Panda-themed vehicles deployed on the streets.
German swimmer Henning Bennet Mühlleitner told the Global Times on Friday that what he found most impressive about the Chengdu Games was “how everything in China is focused on the physical games, although the Games have been holding back for two years due to the pandemic.”
“I feel in good hands, organization-wise, not only by the German team but also by the officials… The volunteers have been very supportive and thoughtful,” Mühlleitner said.
“There’s no other country in the world with China’s capacity and willingness to make such great efforts for a FISU Summer Games, which doesn’t seem as profitable compared with other major sporting events,” Wang Dazhao, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times.
Nevertheless, according to Wang, what China hopes to gain from hosting the Games is a platform for youth to promote cultural exchanges and world unity.
Before the opening, accredited media journalists received a bilingual written script in Chinese and English from students at the local Shishi High School, introducing the cultural diversity of Chengdu that ranges from the Jinsha Site Musem to the Dujiangyan Irrigation System.
Local people have received blind-box gifts from the organizers, which include venue maps, Chinese-English catchphrase leaflets and even sports equipment ranging from skipping ropes to frisbees, Global Times learned.
The move has invigorated the local people’s enthusiasm for the international sports event, as tickets for several events such as athletics, swimming and badminton have sold out.
Hosting the FISU Games also drew a huge influx of visitors this week. A source from the civil aviation authority told the Global Times that flight numbers in the previous month in Chengdu alone reached over 200,000, with the average number of daily flights at Chengdu’s Shuangliu and Tianfu international airports surpassing 1,700.