The sacred flame will ignite the main torch at the Jinan Olympic Center stadium on the evening of Oct 16 as athletes and spectators gather together in preparation for the 11th National Games.

"The 11th National Games, which is anticipated by so many people, will be held soon. We Shandong people will make it a special, peaceful and satisfactory Games with our high spirit and full power,” Huang Sheng, deputy director of the organizing committee of the 11th National Games and the vice Governor of Shandong province, said.

Liu Jianming, a citizen from Jinan’s Lixia district and a Games volunteer, said, "Together with over 200,000 volunteers, I will show the kindness and hospitality of Shandong people with a smile and warm service. It is my honor to show my commitment to the Games."

According to the organizing committee, Jinan has invested over 140 billion yuan in the National Games, which has been spent on 80 key engineering construction designs and 90 key rectification works.

Jinan has undergone enormous changes for the Games. The city has sped up the establishment of a municipal fitness network and supporting projects in counties and urban areas with the aim of promoting the level of their fitness facilities. The parachute tower, Daming Lake, Flowers Garden and four municipal fitness centers have been established. And Yanshan Fitness Square, Zhongshan Park and five other centers have been reconstructed.

In order to make continuous improvement in farmers’ fitness conditions, basketball courts, table-tennis areas, workout paths and other fitness facilities were established in 4,543 administrative villages of the city.

In recent years, the city has also focused on improving people's overall physical condition by organizing a variety of mass sports. Four million people have participated in over 300 demonstrations of nationwide fitness programs and activities in the past three years.

Editor Li Jing

By Cao Qingqing (China Daily Shandong Bureau)