Chengdu Universiade | From the "City of the Olympics" to the "City of the Universiade": Showcasing the Charm of Sports in Beijing, China | Sports | Universiade

This is a shot of Dong'an Lake Sports Park under the night sky in Longquanyi District, Chengdu City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Wei

Beijing, July 28th (Xinhua) - From the "City of the Olympics" to the "City of the Universiade": The Beauty of Sports Showcases Charm in China

Xinhua News Agency reporters Ma Xinran, Liu Fei, Wu Meng, and Meng Fanyu

A pure and romantic snowflake floats into the painting from the National Ski Jumping Center "Snow Ruyi", flying westward along the Great Wall to reach the mountains and rivers of Sichuan. It turns into a shining light of "Rong Fire" at the main torch tower on the banks of Dong'an Lake.

The scene of the theme animation "Chasing Light" for the torch relay of the Chengdu Universiade symbolizes the "hometown of pandas" holding onto the "double Olympic city" relay baton, showcasing the Universiade temperament of pursuing dreams, striving hard, and youthful friendship, as well as the concept of "green, wisdom, vitality, and sharing" in organizing the competition.

The Chengdu Universiade, which opened on the 28th, is the first comprehensive sports event held by China after achieving a decisive victory in epidemic prevention and control. At the beginning of last spring, in the name of ice and snow, the world focused on Beijing, the "Double Olympic City", and remembered the lovely "Bing Dwen Dwen" and "Shuey Rhon Rhon"; In the scorching summer of this year, under the shining of the "Rong Fire", Chengdu continues to showcase the vitality and charm of ancient Eastern powers to the world with the beauty of sports.

On April 19th, skateboarders practiced skateboarding at Dong'an Lake Sports Park in Chengdu. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Xi

When the "Youth Competition" encounters the "Revitalization of the Ancient City"

Chinese delegation athletes with an average age of 22.9 years and 1.39 million young volunteers from Chengdu, full of youthful energy; Athletes from all over the world who are full of energy are actively preparing for the competition and ready to take action. The Universiade is a grand event for young people with strength and beauty, competition and vitality.

The city site remained unchanged for 3000 years, the city name remained unchanged for 2500 years, and the splendid ancient Shu civilization was nurtured here. The city, depicted by Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai, is not only beautiful and prosperous, but also reflects the resilience and innovation of the people of Chengdu.

When vitality and youth meet the rejuvenation of the ancient city, the sports spirit and urban temperament reach a high degree of "two-way travel".

The Universiade has made Chengdu, a "slow" city, "fast": in the Dong'an Lake Sports Park, frisbee, land surfing, badminton, and trendy sports attract young people who are not afraid of challenges; Cycling on the greenway around the city, sweating on the street court, and paddling in Xinglong Lake have become fashionable ways of socializing.

Every "today" of the opening of the Universiade, Chengdu is gathering energy. Since 2018, Chengdu has made building a world-renowned city for sports events one of its urban development goals. As one of the cities with the highest proportion of people participating in sports in China, Chengdu, with over 9.6 million young people, became a pilot city for youth development in China last June.

"A modern city that is very suitable for hosting large-scale sports events" is a unique advantage in the eyes of Kelly, the news liaison officer of the Brazilian delegation; In the view of Zimbabwean youth Mille, what best reflects the national sports atmosphere is that "cycling enthusiasts can easily find sports spaces in the towering city center"; For Andy, a British man who has lived in Sichuan for 15 years, the charm of Chengdu lies in its astonishing development speed, with high-speed rail connecting various cities and more and more foreign restaurants.

"Welcome to Chengdu!" The imprint of the Universiade is still hidden in the brilliant smiles of the volunteers. From the call to "work together towards the future" of the Beijing Winter Olympics to the call to "Chengdu achieves its dreams", the volunteer spirit of dedication, friendship, mutual assistance, and progress has continued from cold winter to summer.

In the eyes of Li Yusheng, a 71 year old resident of Chengdu, the spillover effects of the Universiade have become apparent: sports venues, greenways around the city, and more comprehensive and better leisure scenes are constantly emerging and updating. The renovation of old residential areas has optimized and improved the city's "appearance", and the benefits are far from just the present.

On July 26th, torchbearers Wang Zhengwen and Chen Dan of the Universiade handed over during the torch relay. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Luo Xuefeng

"Cultural Confidence" in the "New Universiade"

After 49 days, the torch of the Universiade, "Rong Huo," entered 25 universities across the country and successfully completed its relay mission at Dong'an Lake Sports Park.

"Ronghuo" has a strong "ancient Shu charm" and "technological sense" - it creatively combines rich Chinese cultural symbols such as giant pandas, sun birds, and bronze standing figures in Sanxingdui with new technologies such as 3D printing and biomass propane fuel.

The image of the Sun God Bird, assembled from tens of thousands of colored glazed glass pieces in the dome of the main sports stadium, is from the Golden Sands Sun God Bird gold decoration unearthed at the Jinsha Site in Chengdu in 2001; The weaving of the medal "Rongguang" ribbon is integrated into the millennium old intangible cultural heritage Sichuan brocade craftsmanship; Based on the principle of "cold alleys" in ancient traditional architecture, a Dayun Village delegation service center was built that can be cool without air conditioning.

These ingenious designs incorporate elements of excellent traditional Chinese culture, reinterpreting and innovating folk wisdom through scientific principles and technological means. The new plan that combines aesthetic value and practical value has also been applied in more fields of the Universiade.

A 250 cubic meter underground rainwater collection pool in Fenghuangshan Sports Park, used for flushing the square, watering greenery, and cleaning the underground garage; In the Dayun Village, more than 1800 power generation glass panels provide clean electricity, and 1340 new energy buses and more than 1100 new energy cars are used for transportation services... From venue construction to event support, from "standard followers" to "setting new benchmarks", from the Beijing Winter Olympics to the Chengdu Universiade, China's low-carbon, green, and sustainable competition concept has always been consistent.

"We will continue to refer to the Beijing Winter Olympics and strive to release the 'Chengdu Universiade Green and Low Carbon Organizing Report' one month after the competition, providing reference for other countries and regions," said Du Shengge, Deputy Minister of Urban Work Service Department of the Chengdu Universiade Executive Committee.

"The world's attention is not only focused on sports competition and gold medal results, but also on Chengdu's new concepts, new plans, and new attitudes due to the focus of the Universiade on Chengdu." Professor Zou Xinxian from Beijing Sport University said that "the novelty of the Universiade" is a vivid footnote to the Chinese people's pursuit of deep cultural confidence.

People have discovered a detail: in international sports events held in China, the concentration of giant pandas is very high. From Pan Pan, who ran with a gold medal at the 1990 Beijing Asian Games, to Jing Jing, one of the lucky stars at the 2008 Beijing Olympics; From the "Bing Dwen Dwen", which was "hard to find" at the Beijing Winter Olympics a year ago, to the "Rongbao", the mascot holding the torch at the Chengdu Universiade, China has demonstrated "each treasure has its own advantages" with its strength.

"Chinese people have their own unique charm of romance, which comes from both inheritance and innovation, both ancient and modern," commented foreign media.

This is the Chengdu Universiade Sichuan Opera face changing blind box "Rongbao" doll shot on July 19th at a licensed retail store for the Chengdu Universiade. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Xi

"Ancient sports" are more exciting due to "cultural exchange"

Wearing Hanfu, drawing facial masks, playing Konghou, and learning shadow puppetry... A cultural exchange event called "Youth Blossoming" for world university athletes has recently been launched. Cultural feasts such as "Universiade Village Evening", academic salons, and "Searching for Tianfu" day reading activities will be held one after another, adding charm to the ubiquitous "Chinese elements" in the Universiade Village.

As one of the important ways of world civilization exchange, international sports events are not only a arena for athletes to compete and compete, but also a stage for cultural exchange and mutual learning.

Since its inception, the Olympic Movement has shouldered the noble mission of uniting world civilization and spreading hope for peace, and unity, friendship, and peace have always been pursued and inherited by the Chinese nation.

For thousands of years, sports exchanges between China and foreign countries have been thriving. Cuju originated in the Han Dynasty and spread to the Western Regions; The exchange and exchange between the Central Plains region and various ethnic groups in the Western Regions have contributed to the prevalence of wrestling; Lion dance, dragon lanterns, stepping on the green, climbing high, and various martial arts and combat activities have been widely spread through the Maritime Silk Road and are still popular in Southeast Asian countries and regions such as Thailand and Singapore.

The Beijing Winter Olympics is during the Spring Festival period, and the athletes in the Winter Olympics Village are posting Spring Festival couplets, blessing characters, and hanging lanterns, feeling the atmosphere of China's most solemn traditional festival. American snowboarder Julia Marino, who was surrounded by dumplings, said, "Since the Winter Olympics, I have eaten 200 dumplings."

The Chengdu Universiade has undoubtedly become a special "experience card" for athletes in their sports careers, with the wish of "not wanting to miss the opportunity to compete with world-class athletes, but also wanting to see pandas with their own eyes", bringing 24-year-old South African diver Joanna Douglas to China.

"Athletes from all over the world have different cultures and languages, and sports can effectively eliminate these differences and establish connections," said Liu Zhengxi, an Egyptian international student who has participated in the "Chinese Bridge" competition multiple times.

Brazilian basketball coach Virgil Lopez has made a plan: "Be sure to eat authentic Chengdu cuisine."; Joshua Feinstein, a member of the German delegation who came to China for the first time, decided to "explore this ancient city well"; Zhang Hengyuan, a young guide at the Chengdu Universiade Museum, saw the open posture of China joining hands with the world from a continuous stream of foreign visiting groups.

"From the Winter Olympics to the Universiade, from China's capital to inland cities, the world can glimpse China's footsteps in expanding its opening-up to the outside world." British writer Toby, who has lived in Chengdu for over a decade, loves sports and is curious and looking forward to the upcoming opening ceremony of the Chengdu Universiade.

"You can always trust China and hope that more people will fall in love with my 'second hometown', which has a name called 'Panda Land'," Toby said.