Photo taken on Aug. 1, 2025 shows the posters of China's 15th National Games in Hong Kong, south China. China's 15th National Games will be co-hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in November 2025. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

At the ongoing 15th National Games, 90 percent of the competition sites across Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions have been adapted from existing facilities, a deliberate move toward sustainability and efficient urban management.

The Guangdong competition zone alone uses more than 90 percent of the existing venues, reflecting the organizing committee's commitment to the "green, shared, open and clean" principles. This shift signals a decisive break from the long-held notion that major events must leave behind monumental new structures.

Instead of chasing new icons, Guangdong's organizers took a pragmatic approach. Local media has reported that the province's 105 venues were largely upgraded from existing facilities, the first move in the National Games' history. In doing so, the Games turned the process of preparing for competition into an exercise in fine-tuned urban improvement.

Few examples illustrate this transformation better than the Guangzhou Tianhe Sports Center, one of China's most storied stadiums. Having hosted the sixth National Games in 1987, the ninth National Games in 2001, and the 2010 Asian Games, the venue has now become the country's first large near-zero-carbon stadium. After the installation of a photovoltaic system and energy-efficient upgrades, its annual electricity savings have reached more than 1.09 million kilowatt-hours, cutting carbon emissions by roughly 811 tons per year. Its carbon emission intensity has dropped to just 10.73 kilograms per square meter annually.

Similar stories can be found across the region. Five venues in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, have installed more than 10,000 square meters of rooftop solar panels. The Guangdong Olympic Sports Center, which hosted the opening ceremony on Sunday, now follows a "self-generation, self-use, surplus-to-grid" model, reducing annual emissions by about 352 tons. These figures demonstrate how sports infrastructure can align with China's broader "dual carbon" goals - peaking emissions before 2030 and achieving neutrality before 2060, while providing practical benefits to host cities.

What makes this model particularly meaningful is that sustainability extends beyond construction. All permanent venues will be fully opened to the public after the Games to ensure that the facilities continue to serve local residents.

Such efforts reflect a wider trend in China's event management philosophy. From the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics to the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, sustainability has shifted from a slogan to application. Green transformation nowadays is advancing across society, with large-scale events serving as testing grounds for carbon-efficient design and inclusive city planning.

This evolution also underscores how major events can contribute to cities' long-term well-being rather than burden them. Across the world, white-elephant stadiums often stand as reminders of short-lived glory. In contrast, the approaches at the National Games suggest that major competitions can accelerate existing urban development, creating infrastructure that continues to add value long after the Games. It's a model that shifts attention from the spectacular to sustainable and enduring public benefit.

The shift carries broader implications. By proving that high-level national events can be successfully staged with minimal new construction, the National Games set a precedent not only domestically but also globally. Future hosts of national or international events may find that renovation and smart reuse can yield not only environmental and fiscal gains, but also social ones, strengthening ties between local residents and the spaces that define their communities.

Ultimately, the real legacy of the National Games may not lie in medals or ceremonies, but in mind-set. The model of repurposing the old and empowering the public may well become the blueprint for the next generation of sustainable sports events.

Source: People's Daily Online