Athletes, organizers and volunteers combine to shine

"Our aim was to provide the athletes and coaches with a safe, convenient and cozy living environment," said Du Junxia, deputy director of the athletes' village committee.

Another vital component of the Games' success was the army of around 45,000 volunteers serving directly at the competitions, at the athletes' village, in administrative or logistical capacities or stationed at every corner of the host cities to assist athletes and visitors alike.

"The volunteers are mainly students and local citizens," Zhao Jing, an official in charge of organizing them, told Shanxi Daily.

"All the volunteers received four rounds of training before the start of the Games. This event represents a great opportunity to show the professionalism of our volunteers and promote the volunteer spirit."

Keeping the Games economically viable was a priority from the start.

"First of all, we had very strict rules... and during the preparations we devised clear financial regulations and rules to prevent any chance of spending unnecessary money," said vice-governor Zhang.

"Secondly, we made a strict budget plan to make sure the money was well spent. We utilized what we have instead of building or buying everything new. After we finalized the budget plan, we stuck strictly to it, without exception.