This year's games are sponsored by the Hunan Provincial Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission and the Hunan Provincial Administration of Sport, and organized by the Zhangjiajie Municipal People's Government. Themed "Ethnic Minorities in Hunan Closely Bound Like Seeds of a Pomegranate, Pursuing Dreams in Zhangjiajie," the games aim to build a platform for exchanges, interactions, and integration among all ethnic groups, and to forge a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation in a tangible, perceptible, and effective way. The emblem of the games integrates elements such as Yubi Peak, dove tree flowers, and the number "11." The mascots "Fengfeng" and "Xiuxiu" draw on Zhangjiajie's landscape and ethnic cultural symbols, indicating that all ethnic groups are bound as tightly as pomegranate seeds. The games will also serve as a rehearsal of the 13th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities in 2027 which will be co-hosted by Zhangjiajie and Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.
The participation of the games reaches a record high, with a total of 3,521 participants from 31 delegations representing 13 cities, one autonomous prefecture, and 17 ethnic counties and urban districts across the province. A total of 2,674 athletes will participate in the competitions. The competitions are divided into Group A and Group B, with two major categories—competitive and performing. The competitive category comprises 10 major events and 154 sub-events, including high-stilt racing, swing, wooden plank racing, crossbow shooting, top spinning, Cuqiu (ball kicking), Yajia (elephant tug-of-war), shuttlecock, ethnic fitness exercises, and dragon boat racing. The performing category consists of 52 events in 3 major programs, namely, athletic, acrobatic, and comprehensive. Notably, dragon boat racing is a newly added competitive event this year.
Since 1986, Hunan Province has hosted ten sessions of minority traditional sports games. This year marks the second time Zhangjiajie has hosted this event, following the 6th Hunan Provincial Ethnic Games in 2006. According to organizers, Zhangjiajie will uphold the philosophy of "hosting the games to boost urban development and staging competitions to fuel tourism," and deliver outcomes in four key areas:
- Using the games as a bridge to integrate intangible cultural heritage exhibitions and folk performances throughout the event, and develop premium tourist routes featuring "watching competitions, admiring natural scenery, and experiencing folk customs";
- Capitalizing on the event to draw visitors by rolling out scenic spot discounts, consumption coupons and exclusive hotel packages, so as to revitalize the cultural and tourism consumption market;
- Giving play to its leading role to deepen cultural and tourism collaboration with neighboring Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Huaihua, Shaoyang and Changde cities, advancing coordinated regional development; and,
- Adopting a long-term vision to fully revitalize competition venues after the games to push forward preparations for the 2027 National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities, continuously consolidating the sense of community for the Chinese nation.
At present, all preparations are advancing in an orderly manner.
This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.
Translator: Pang Yuehui
Chinese source: Hunan Daily
Hunan PSB Cyber Security Filing: No. 43010302000524