Grand Gathering in China’s 14th National Games

Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the 14th National Games open in Xi’an, capital city of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province on the evening of September 15. A grand opening ceremony featuring music, dance, and cultural exhibition was held in the pomegranate-flower shaped Xi’an Olympic Center Stadium.

Under the theme of “Games for all, together in mind and action,” the 14th National Games featured a total of 54 sports including 595 events. Billed as China’s “mini Olympics,” the quadrennial National Games, inaugurated in 1959, has featured Olympic-style programs plus wushu for elite athletes and opened its door to sports enthusiasts for the first time in the 2017 Tianjin edition.

More than 12,000 athletes representing China’s provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and specific sporting associations competed in this year’s Games, which ran through to September 27.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with individuals and groups, both professionals and amateurs, who are advancing China’s sporting cause, as well as representatives of athletes and coaches from the Chinese Olympic delegation for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in Xi’an, capital city of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, on September 15, 2021.

An artistic performance during the opening ceremony for China’s 14th National Games in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, on September 15, 2021.

The torch is lit during the opening ceremony for China’s 14th National Games in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, on September 15, 2021.

A sweeping panoramic scene of the opening ceremony for China’s 14th National Games in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, on September 15, 2021.