Athletes and local officials in Guizhou have put a lot of time and sweat into these games, and expectations are running high

China's 9th National Ethnic Games will begin on Sept 10, in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province and the country's ethnic groups have a lot of hopes for the games.

The hosts of the event are the State Ethnic Affairs Commission and the General Administration of Sport, with backing from the central government's State Council. They are being organized by the provincial government.

Both the athletes and local officials have put a lot of time and sweat into the event, and people across the nation have been waiting expectantly to get a look at this once-every-four-years sporting event.

The games run for nine days with the opening ceremony being held Saturday evening. They have at least 16 types of events, as well as some non-competitive demonstrations and a special event for guests from various ethnic groups.

The officials are expecting more than 20,000 athletes, guests, and volunteer helpers, not to mention the, at least 1,000, reporters from across the country.

And, of course there is a mascot -the "Guizhou Dragon". The inspiration for this came from the dinosaurs that are believed to have roamed the area around Xingyi about 240 million years ago. And the mascot's green skin conveniently symbolizes the beauty of the environment of Guizhou.

And there is a logo for the games that can be read either as a "G" - that is, Guizhou - or the number "9", which is a homophone for the word "long" in Chinese, and, in this case, refers to the different ethnic groups working together for a long time.