Xi’an, China, September 15, 2021: Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the 14th National Games open in Xi'an, capital city of Shaanxi Province in northwest China, on Wednesday evening.
More than 12,000 athletes are set to compete in China’s "mini-Olympics" which will run from September 15-27 and feature a total of 54 sports and 595 events. 35 sports and 410 events are set for the elite athletes, while 185 events in 19 sports are for the masses in grassroots programmes.
The athletes are representing provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the sporting associations of the railway and coal-mining industries, as well as sports institutes and clubs.
The National Games brings together athletes from all over China and helps to identify talent for the national team at the Asian Games and Olympic Games levels. The theme this year is “Games for all, together in mind and action”.
The 15th National Games will be hosted jointly by Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province in 2025.
