March 18 marked the 100-day countdown to the opening of the 31st FISU Summer World University Games (Chengdu 2021). Currently, Chengdu has been well prepared for the competition: 49 stadiums and the Athletes' Village have been completed and 13 supporting traffic link projects put into service; related competition organization work has entered its final stretch, Ronghuo, the torch that is based on "Rong", the time-honored name of Chengdu, and Rongguang, the medal that literally means "Light of Chengdu", have been unveiled and the welcome ceremony for the flame has been held; 269 medal events across 18 sports disciplines have been set... An eagerly anticipated international sports game that is dedicated to young people and celebrates the new era is well underway.
Build stadiums in line with the concept of hosting a green event
As spring arrives, Dong'an Lake Sports Park, located more than 20 kilometers southeast of downtown Chengdu, is teeming with visitors. On the other side of the park, constructors are winding up the work at the main stadium where the Opening Ceremony of Chengdu 2021 will be held. "We are upgrading the inside of the main stadium and installing lighting and sound equipment according to the creative scheme of the Opening Ceremony to ensure the successful holding of the Opening Ceremony of Chengdu 2021," said Huang Gu from the Opening Ceremony Operation Center of the Department of Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Executive Committee of Chengdu 2021.
Spring also makes the Phoenix Mountain Open Air Music Park in the north of Chengdu where the Closing Ceremony of Chengdu 2021 will be held green and full of life again. Its landscape design has combined Tianfu culture, phoenix culture, ancient Shu music culture, and international elements. Featuring a "sponge city" design scheme, it has utilized the green roof technology and the landscape water ecological balance technology and pioneered the ecological soundproofing system based on the slope elevation differences, thereby realizing the low-cost park operation and maintenance.
Moreover, the Athletes' Village, one of the important functional venues to ensure the services of Chengdu 2021, has been built in Chengdu University. As a partly newly built and partly rebuilt building, it can meet the needs of Chengdu 2021 and can continue to be used by Chengdu University and neighboring communities after Chengdu 2021 ends, thus hosting a frugal and sustainable event. "So far, all the projects of the Athletes' Village have been completed and infrastructure installment is progressing well." Specifically, the Athletes' Village consists of an operation zone, an international zone, an accommodation zone and a transportation zone to provide athletes with one-stop services from registration and catering to cultural exchange and fitness, said a head of the Department of Athletes' Village of the Executive Committee of Chengdu 2021.
According to the Executive Committee of Chengdu 2021, Chengdu 2021 has prepared 49 stadiums for competition and training in 15 districts (cities) and universities in Chengdu, and all of them have been completed. Of the 49 stadiums, 13 are newly built and the rest are rebuilt, and 22 are selected as smart stadiums to reflect the concept of hosting a green event.
Technology makes Chengdu 2021 smart
Technology has made Chengdu 2021 impressively smart.
Through "Chengdu 2021 Metaverse Experience Platform", users can experience Chengdu's beautiful scenery, delicious food and shopping through the mobile application or the robot version, bringing new exchange and interaction experiences for Chinese and foreign young people. The Athletes' Village, the Volunteers' Home, and other places offer visualized, intelligent and interesting fitness training for participants via 4K high-definition screens. All over Dong'an Lake Sports Park and Sichuan International Tennis Center, smart road lamps "Xiao Baiyang" (lit. little poplar) realize the integrated development of the Games and smart city management by combining lighting, traffic video monitoring, WiFi, LED information display screen and other smart devices for Internet of Things. The app "Zhangshang Dayun" (lit. WUG on hand) and intelligent translation system can provide convenient and efficient services such as event reminder, event watching, navigation and intelligent translation.
On February 27, the "Dayun" (lit. WUG) satellite named after the Games was successfully launched, integrating AI satellite Internet into world comprehensive games for the first time. It will provide such services as satellite data communication, convergence media resources, carbon neutrality monitoring and the interactive function of "Dayun Xingqiu" (lit. WUG Planet) for the WUG.
"The Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games will be a grand event to show the strength of Chengdu's sci-tech innovation. It will not only provide application value for new technologies, but also create more opportunities for local sci-tech innovation enterprises to precisely integrate with world comprehensive games," said Miao Yuyuan, Full-time Deputy Director of Development Activities Department, the Executive Committee of the Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games (WUG).
Preparations for the Games stimulate the city's sports vitality
Yu Zaiqing, Vice President of the International Olympic Committee and Director of the Expert Advisory committee of the Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games, said: "The Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games will help residents to deepen their understanding of sports events and cultural exchanges. It is a very good stage for international exchanges. The WUG and Chengdu will make each other better."
"Hosting the WUG will not only show Chengdu's image to the world, but also bring a tangible upgrade to the city," introduced Chen Zhi, Deputy Director of Chengdu Sports Bureau. In 2021, the sports consumption of residents in Chengdu, one of the first national sports consumption pilot cities, reached 50 billion yuan.A network of differentiated sports consumption scenarios and landmarks has spread all over the city.
Sports are becoming a new expression of the park city's vitality. Since the Guideline of Chengdu for Setting Up Doorstep Sports Spaces was released in the summer of 2021, through the program "Golden Corner and Silver Edge", new and renovated sports spaces have continued to emerge in the city, and 15-minute fitness circles around communities have been in full swing. Along the Tianfu Greenway running through the whole area of Chengdu, the public service system of mass fitness has been improved. At present, the people in Chengdu have easy access to 1223 sports facilities on the Tianfu Greenway. Through Chengdu's mass fitness brand project "Health along Tianfu Greenway", more than 1,000 fitness activities were organized annually, attracting more than 12 million participants. Wherever the Tianfu Greenway goes, there are fitness activities.
The harmony among the landscape, the people and the city has inspired the athletic vitality of Chengdu. The WUG will paint a new green scroll as part of Chengdu's efforts in building a park city demonstration area that practices the new development concept.
