Society

Asian Games venues under way

By Zheng Caixiong (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-24 08:23

GUANGZHOU: Construction of venues for the 16th Asian Games has reached the final stage in this Guangdong provincial capital.

"Outer and interior decorations for most of the venues for the biggest sports event in Asia are now well under way," said Peng Gaofeng, director of the organizing committee's venues department.

"The venues, which feature the architectural style of the southern Chinese region, will be able to be put into use one after the other after March next year," Peng told a press conference yesterday.

A series of competitions will be organized to help test the new venues, equipment and related facilities before the 16th Asian Games open in November of 2010, Peng said.

The new venues include the Chinese mainland's first equestrian field in Conghua, a suburb of Guangzhou.

The new equestrian facility, which will accommodate more than 1,000 horses from around the world, will allow the southern metropolis bordering the Hong Kong and Macao special administration regions to become the first Chinese mainland city to hold equestrian events, Peng said.

The equestrian competition of the Beijing Olympic Games was held in Hong Kong in August last year, Peng said.

The 150-hectare equestrian facility, which lies about 40 km away from downtown Guangzhou, is also set to become a new tourist attraction after the Asian Games, he said.

Peng said the organizing committee of the Guangzhou Asian Games has established a special task force to handle issues regarding the use of venues after the Games.

"New venues are not only designed just for the Games next year, but also for the use of local residents after the Games," Peng said.

The Asian Games Town in the city's Panyu district will become a new and large residential community that includes advanced sports facilities, entertainment and shopping centers after the Games, Peng said.

The 2.7-sq-km town includes villages for athletes and officials, as well as a media center, international broadcast center and park.

Tropical and subtropical trees and fruits are being planted to meet the goal of a green and eco-friendly Asian Games, Peng said.

The 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, from Nov 12 to 27, are the most important sports event in Asia.

Tian Xinde, deputy secretary general of the organizing committee of Guangzhou Asian Games, said organizers have vowed to make it the most successful and largest of its kind in Games' history.

Guangzhou, which was awarded the right to host the 2010 Asian Games in July of 2004, will be the second city to hold the Asian Games after Beijing in 1990.

The 2010 Asian Games will be the largest and the most influential comprehensive sports event to be hosted by Guangzhou to date, Tian said.