Shandong gears up for National Games

The 11th National Games is set to be China's largest and most high-profile sporting event since the country's hugely successful staging of the Beijing Olympic Games. With a little over seven months to go before the event's opening ceremony, venues across China are gearing up to ensure the event matches the success of its 2008 predecessor.

Nowhere is this activity more pronounced than in Shandong, the east coast Chinese province that will be the setting for the majority of the event's 33 competitions. Huang Sheng, the vice-governor of Shandong and deputy-director of the event's organizing committee, is confident that everything is on course to ensure its success.

He said: "With months still to go before the opening of the 11th National Games, our preparation work is in full swing. We are aiming to ensure that the National Games is a huge success."