What to watch at 14th National Games

With China's 14th National Games kicking off in Xi'an on Wednesday, host Shaanxi province is ready to deliver on its promise of staging a "streamlined, safe and splendid" showpiece.

Yang Qian, Zhang Yufei, Su Bingtian and Ma Long are going to be the torch bearers at the opening ceremony of the Games, according to a micro blog post by the National Games' organizing committee.

Medals are up for grabs in a total of 595 disciplines across 54 sports at the Games, which are billed as a "mini-Olympics" in the country.

The majority of the action is taking place in 13 cities in Shaanxi, although six events which have special requirements, such as surfing, are being staged in seven other provinces.

Some events were completed before the opening ceremony, but this week the Games will still play host to over 12,000 athletes, 6,000 delegation members, 4,200 technical officials, 15,000 volunteers and 1,500 media workers.