Spotlight on Chengdu for pandas and 31st Summer World University Games

While Chengdu - the capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan province, is known as the hometown of giant pandas, it is also set to impress the world with its hosting of the 31st Summer World University Games.

Being held from 28th July to 8th August the University Games will showcase the charm of the "Panda City" and present a sporting feast for athletes and guests. Chengdu is the only large metropolis in the world where both captive and wild pandas can be found.

With two months remaining until the opening ceremony, Chengdu is preparing to showcase an international sports event infused with unique Chinese characteristics.

Chengdu has constructed 13 new venues and facilities while renovating 36 existing ones for the University Games. All sports facilities, including the Dong'an Lake Sports Park where the opening ceremony will take place, were put into use by April 2021.

The Chengdu Universiade Village, located on the campus of Chengdu University, can accommodate approximately 11,000 people. Equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, it offers premium services in catering, fitness, commerce, leisure, and cultural exchanges.

FISU Secretary General and Chief Executive Eric Saintrond described the Games Village as "one of the best we've ever had."

From broadcasting to security and from transportation to medical services, a wide range of new technologies like 5G, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence have been employed to create a smart Universiade.

UniSport Australia announced that it will send a team of up to 150 athletes to Chengdu.

"The World University Games offers a fantastic opportunity for student-athletes to compete at the elite level in a multi-sport event," advised Carrie Graf, former Olympic championship-winning coach who will lead the Australian team.

David Knopp, vice head of the U.S. delegation, also expressed his enthusiasm for the upcoming event adding "we hope to bring two of our best basketball teams from the university level in the United States. They're excited to compete here."

Established in 1987, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding has the largest captive panda population in the world. The base, home to more than 230 giant pandas, simulates their natural habitat, with lakes, streams, bamboo forests and grasslands where visitors can see pandas of different ages from infancy to adulthood.

At the base, there is a giant panda named Zhima that has attracted more and more attention from people around the world because of his special identity - the real image of the Chengdu Universiade mascot Rongbao.

A male giant panda who loves to climb trees, Zhima was selected as the real image of Rongbao in August 2020 after a global vote.

As the habitat of giant pandas in the wild, the Chengdu section of the Giant Panda National Park is home to 73 wild giant pandas, according to the fourth national giant panda survey.

Pandas have deeply integrated into the cultural bloodstream of Chengdu, becoming one of its most famous calling cards. During the Chengdu Universiade, the city will use pandas as a medium to fully demonstrate its unique cultural charms to the world.

Chengdu is home to world heritage sites including Qingcheng Mountain, Dujiangyan and giant panda habitats, humanistic attractions such as Jinsha Site Museum and Wuhou Temple, and intangible cultural heritages such as Sichuan Opera and Shu embroidery.

As the "city of gastronomy" awarded by UNESCO, Chengdu is the birthplace of classic Sichuan dishes such as Kung Pao chicken and Mapo tofu, and is famous for its spicy hot pot and exquisite and diverse snacks.

Activities featuring China's intangible cultural heritage and traditional Chinese cultures will be held during the Universiade, said officials at the Executive Committee of the Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games.

15 cultural exchange stations will be set up and 10 boutique experience routes will be launched, to help global guests appreciate the unique charm of Sichuan and Chengdu.

Image top: The giant pandas at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding; Image above: Chengdu Dong'an Lake Sports Park. Credit:  Wikimedia Commons