National Games start new chapter

With southern China's culture and cross-regional integration presented in a visual spectacle, a gala ceremony left the entire Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area stoked on Sunday as President Xi Jinping declared the 15th National Games open in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.

Launched in 1959 to promote mass sports participation, China's National Games have opened a new chapter with the groundbreaking 2025 edition, being jointly held for the first time in Guangdong province and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. The 15th National Games kicked off with great fanfare, celebrating their influence in pulling the Greater Bay Area further together, not just in sports exchanges but also in terms of cultural and economic cohesion.

After overseeing the parade of athletes and a series of ceremonial rituals, Xi announced the opening of the domestic sporting gala — held once every four years with a competition program similar to that of the Olympics — to rousing cheers from the crowd of over 80,000 at Guangdong Olympic Sports Center Stadium.

Before attending the ceremony, Xi met on Sunday afternoon in Guangzhou with individuals and representatives of various sports groups, who were honored as role models of mass fitness and competitive sports promotion.

Kirsty Coventry, the new president of the International Olympic Committee and Thomas Bach, the IOC's honorary president for life, were among guests at the opening ceremony.

As the largest edition of the games, in numbers of participants and host cities, the Greater Bay Area games feature 419 medal events across 34 sports, involving over 14,000 professional athletes on its competitive program. A parallel mass sports program has also engaged more than 1 million amateurs in preliminary rounds of 166 events since February.

As an early highlight of the night, a joint delegation of athletes representing Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao marched together at the end of the athletes' parade, drawing warm applause from the crowd.

As part of an extensive display of the history and culture of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the opening ceremony presented traditional activities and art, ranging from dragon boat racing and lion dances to drum and gong performances in an intriguingly immersive fashion, enhanced by modern technology and dazzling audiovisual effects.