Venue construction for China's National Games on course

Before entering the construction site of the 14th National Games venues in Xi'an, workers have to walk through a 10-meter long disinfection channel with spray overhead, and have their body temperature checked twice.

With these strict epidemic prevention and control measures in place, construction work on the Xi'an Olympic Center, which will host the event's opening ceremony in 2021, has continued despite much of China grinding to a halt during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

On the banks of the Ba River in suburban Xi'an, dozens of excavators are building a 2.21 kilometer-long tunnel next to the sports center that will reduce the half-hour drive across the river to just three minutes.

In a move to prevent the epidemic, workers have been allocated shuttle buses to use to commute between the site and their dormitories, said project manager An Sanqian.

Armbands in different colors have also been issued to identify workers. Red is for workers who did not leave Xi'an for the Chinese New Year holiday; yellow is for workers who have returned from their hometowns and tested negative for the virus after a 14-day quarantine; and newly-returned workers who are undergoing quarantine have green armbands, according to An.

In order to complete the construction as scheduled, 1,825 workers stayed behind to work during the Spring Festival holiday. With China seeking to return to a normal working pattern, 1,202 workers had returned to their posts at the sports center by Monday.

A total of 25 venues for the 14th National Games are scheduled for completion by June 30, 2020. The Games will be held in 2021.