Unity

Yang Jing, the organizing committee chairman, who is also head of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, spoke to the media and said that these national ethnic group games are one important way for the various groups to pass on their history and culture.

"The games started in 1953, and have never stopped developing themselves. And they've made a great contribution to the uniting of all ethnic groups as one," Yang said.

Guizhou's governor, Zhao Kezhi, went further by saying, "It's an honor for Guizhou to be chosen to host the ethnic group games and it shows the charm of our land here."

Zhao explained that Guizhou's ethnic groups account for 36 percent of the population, and that ethnic autonomous areas account for more than half its land.

"But, when it comes to the people of Guizhou, whether they're from the province or somewhere else, whether they're Han or ethic groups, they have all contributed to its economic development," he added.

Chen Yiqin, head of the Party's publicity department in Guizhou, held a press conference last month, where she remarked that, "The media from China and overseas are welcome to come and see these traditional ethnic sports."

Measures

Over the nearly 60 years of their development, the games have become an influential nationwide event. After the second games, held in Inner Mongolia, they changed to a four-year cycle. This is Guizhou province's first crack at holding the games, so there is obviously a lot of excitement here.

The organizing committee has said that it has done everything possible to guarantee that the games go smoothly. Wang Fuyu, deputy Party chief of Guizhou, has said that more than 10,000 police will be on duty and, around 455 buses will be made available to shuttle spectators around.

The committee reported last week that at least 58 hotels in Guiyang are ready for the participants and visitors.

A reception team, staffed mostly by volunteers, has been set up with groups working round-the-clock to send people to the airport and railway station to receive delegations.

The last games were held in Guangdong province, in 2007, with some 8,000 athletes and officials taking part.

(China Daily 09/10/2011 page10)