Flame marks 30-day countdown for World University Games

Thirty-one torchbearers relayed the flame for the 31st Summer World University Games in Yibin, Sichuan province, on Wednesday as part of the Games' 30-day countdown.

The ceremony started at Yibin University at 9 am. Torchbearers from the sports, education, economy, culture, tourism, law, architecture, police and science and technology sectors covered about 2.5 kilometers to finish the relay within an hour.

At the Dong'an Lake Sports Park in Chengdu, some 200 kilometers away, countdown activities included cultural performances, women's basketball competitions and a soccer game. The game was played by a team composed of well-known actors and singers from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and a local team with members being Olympic champions, literary and art figures and volunteers.

At 9:30 am, the countdown event kicked off to the beat of 30 drums, which allowed the audience to feel the university games approaching, said Li Linyuan, a middle-aged woman who lives near the park.

An intelligent "vending machine" at the event site attracted participants' attention. After people place various kinds of waste such as used water bottles, cans and coffee cups into the opening of the machine, it would immediately scan and analyze the materials and generate carbon credit receipts that participants could redeem for gifts.

According to the organizer, the interactive machine, named "magic cube", will also appear in the main media center and other venues during the games to encourage participants to endorse the concept of a low-carbon event, effectively reduce carbon emissions and advocate a healthy, low-carbon lifestyle.

Han Qiaosheng, an anchor with China Central Television who participated in the countdown in Chengdu, said that China has declared to the world through the games that it is a peace-loving country that has achieved new heights in science, technology and environmental protection.

"We look forward to the wonderful Chengdu games and welcome young athletes from all over the world. They can achieve their dreams here," he said.

The Yibin stop was the fifth of the Games' flame relay. The first four stops were at Peking University in Beijing on June 10; the Harbin Institute of Technology in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on June 15;Shenzhen University in Guangdong province on June 20; and Chongqing University in Chongqing municipality on June 24.

After the event in Yibin, the flame will be relayed to various other universities in Chengdu until it is finally used to ignite the main cauldron tower torch for the games on July 28.

In January 2022, the torch was ignited in Turin, Italy. The following month, a welcoming ceremony for the flame was held at the Jinsha Site Museum in Chengdu. The museum is located in the Jinsha Ruins, one of Sichuan's most important archaeological sites.

The games will be held from July 28 to Aug 8, after being deferred twice because of COVID-19. Chengdu is the third city on the Chinese mainland to host the Summer University Games, following Beijing in 2001 and Shenzhen in 2011.

Athletes from universities across the globe will compete for 269 gold medals in 18 sports. The Chinese delegation is expected to number more than 800, including around 500 athletes competing in all 18 events.