18th Fujian Provincial Games Open in Sanming with 30,000 Participants
Opening on Friday the 18th Provincial Games of Fujian opened in Sanming with a total participant scale exceeding 30,000 athletes, coaches, and staff across 92 major events.
The 18th Provincial Games and the 12th Provincial Senior Sports Fitness Convention run concurrently, featuring 1,350 minor events across 92 major categories, according to China Daily. Sanming is hosting the provincial-level multi-sport competition for the first time since the city's establishment. The events span the youth, mass, industry, and university divisions, bringing 75 competitive events to the region alongside 17 major categories for senior participants.
Six new emerging disciplines, including skateboarding, surfing, climbing, and baseball, joined the competition schedule. Competition venues cover the urban center of Sanming as well as surrounding counties, with preliminary matches having started as early as May.
The opening ceremony at the Sanming City Stadium utilized an artistic performance themed “New Journey under the Flying Red Flags,” divided into four chapters centered on red, green, and blue motifs.
Five prominent Fujian-born champions, including weightlifter Deng Wei, canoeist Zhang志成, sprinter Ge Manqi, badminton player Huang Dongping, and weightlifter Li Fabin, jointly ignited the main torch. According to China Daily, the torch lighting combined physical ignition with a digital display originating from Ningha, the starting point of the Long March.
Environmental measures marked a primary focus for organizers. As the birthplace of forestry carbon ticketing in China, Sanming applied forestry carbon tickets to offset the event’s carbon footprint, neutralizing an estimated 26,000 tons of emissions. Organizers established a dedicated champion carbon forest using 798 seedlings at the city stadium and deployed eco-friendly bamboo products alongside new energy transport vehicles.
Preparations involved upgrading 34 venues across the city, including 8 newly built facilities and 12 renovated sites designed for post-game public use. Local organizers engaged sports management expert Liu Qingzao to advise on event operations, venue maintenance, and emergency protocols.
“We hope to transform Sanming’s mountains, waters, culture, and struggle into a perceptible stage art language,” said Deng Tongming, executive director of the opening ceremony, as reported by CCTV. “The core landing point of all arrangement designs is to let the deep cultural heritage and green development story of this city flow through the moving light and shadow and truly enter the hearts of every audience member.”
To accommodate visitors, the city designated 57 official reception hotels and mobilized over 2,500 volunteers operating under the “Little Kirin” service banner. Concurrently, ticket stubs from events unlock discounts across 132 local merchants, restaurants, and tourist attractions.
The 18th Provincial Games conclude on November 20.
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