Chengdu on last push ahead of sports event

Capital of Sichuan province constructs eco-friendly venues and uses technological prowess to ensure success of World University Games

With 60 days to the 31st Summer World University Games in Chengdu, preparation work for the event has entered its final stage, which aims to bring young people from across the world together in the home of giant pandas in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

Scheduled to be held from June 26 to July 7, the WUG is the second-largest global multisport event after the Olympic Games.

This will be the first time a city in western China holds such an international sports event. Previous editions were held in Beijing and Shenzhen, Guangdong province. This is the third time the event is to be held on the Chinese mainland.

Organized by the International University Sports Federation, the Universiade is held in winter and summer, and is open to student athletes aged between 17 and 28 who are still studying in university or have not been out of school for more than two years. All compulsory competitive items are held in line with international Olympic standards.

The event comprises 269 medal events across 18 sports. They comprise 15 compulsory sports including athletics, diving, archery and basketball as well as three optional sports of rowing, shooting sport and martial arts.

As the preparation work enters the final stage, Chengdu authorities have called for all relevant parties to take part in a bid to hold a simple, safe and wonderful event, and to bring the world a sports gala for youths with international standards as well as to present Chinese style and the local culture.

International level

Located at Longquan Mountain in eastern Chengdu, the Dong'an Lake Sports Center, the main site of the WUG, was renamed the WUG Park by FISU on June 26, 2021, to mark the 365-day countdown.

The park, which comprises a main stadium capable of accommodating up to 40,000 people, a gymnasium with 18,000 seats, a natatorium and ballgame gymnasiums, will host the opening ceremony, gymnastics and swimming as well as provide training for the WUG, according to its organizers.

According to local officials, the roof of the main stadium includes 12,540 glass pieces, evoking a sunbird shape 2.7 million times bigger than a 0.01 square-meter of this ornamental pattern.

The emblem of the sunbird is a gold foil relic unearthed at the Jinsha Ruins in Chengdu, which was made by ancestors of the Shu Kingdom more than 3,000 years ago. It is designated as a symbol of Chinese cultural heritage and adopted as the core pattern of the city symbol of Chengdu.

Apart from facilities for the event, the park also shares a sound natural environment base and features local elements including peach blossom and bamboo cultures, creating a pleasant park scenery and leisure destination.

The park will also be built into an ecological park contributing to agricultural irrigation and environmental restoration, according to local officials.

To date, a total of 49 competition and training venues have been completed in Chengdu, with hardware and software infrastructure rated at an international level, according to the organizing committee.

During the construction of the venues, Chengdu has adhered to the green, simple and essential principle of the WUG in a vision to develop them into structures featuring international top-level, distinctive architecture and sustainable development.

Of the 49 venues, 13 are newly built and have obtained the second-star green building evaluation label.

In addition, the local authority has used green and energy-saving measures in the reconstruction work of 36 existing venues. They have adopted green building materials and the design of green engineering projects.

As a major part of supporting the WUG, the Universiade Village in Chengdu University has taken shape, covering an area of 800,000 square meters. The village comprises residential, operational, international and transport areas, aiming to provide delegations with diversified services including accommodation, catering, fitness, entertainment and cultural exchange.

The area of the Universiade Village for non-motorized traffic connects to the Jincheng Greenway and Qinglong Lake, which will create a great experience in the park city for guests.

The Universiade Village is built to meet the competition's demands as well as for the university and nearby communities afterward, responding to the event's simple and sustainable concept, an official of the Universiade Village said.

Technology support

The WUG will be a stage for Chengdu to showcase its technological development, as the sports event is expected to see a slew of applied scenarios with new technologies.

With the support of technologies, the WUG in Chengdu will present a green and smart event.

According to organizers, hotels for athletes have installed cadmium telluride thin film solar cells, also known as "photovoltaic glass", in their roof reconstruction. This eco-friendly product is developed by a local high-tech company and was used as the material for road signs featuring mascots Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

At the WUG Shuangliu competition zone, it has installed the glass at its indicator areas of the volleyball venue and security checkpoints to provide green electricity.

In addition, new energy vehicles will serve the transport needs during the WUG. A total of 1,380 new energy buses will offer services for athletes and technical officials. During the event, Chengdu will promote 70 percent of green traffic in its downtown areas and competition zones.

On Feb 27, a satellite named after the Universiade was launched in Wenchang, Hainan province.

The satellite, developed by Chengdu-based satellite maker ADA Space, is the first of its kind to be named after a sports event. This satellite will provide the WUG in Chengdu with services such as events broadcasting, environmental monitoring and emergency communications.

Tailor-made robots developed by Chengdu local businesses will also be working at the event to serve athletes and spectators. Their services include interpretation, guidance, event checking, pandemic prevention and automated sterilization.

The Chengdu WUG will take advantage of information technology such as 5G, 8K, internet of things, cloud computing, big data and AI to support venue management, event watching and broadcasting to present a smart WUG, its organizers said.