The modern Olympic Games or Olympics are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 teams, representing sovereign states and territories participating; by default the Games generally substitute for any World Championships the year in which they take place. The Olympic Games are normally held every four years, and since 1994, have alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year period.
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad and also known as Beijing 2008, were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 28 sports and 302 events, one event more than those scheduled for the 2004 Summer Olympics. This was the first time China had hosted the Olympic Games, and the third time the Summer Olympic Games had been held in East Asia, following the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, and the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. These were also the second Summer Olympic Games to be held in a communist state, the first being the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union.
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was first time the new Paralympic logo featured in the Summer Paralympics since its rebranding after the 2004 Summer Paralympics.
Xing Huina is a former Chinese track and field athlete. She is widely recognised as the most successful Asian female runner of all time, after winning the Athens olympic gold medal in 2004. In a relatively short elite career that effectively ended before the age of 25, her most significant achievement was to win a shock gold in the 2004 Olympic Games in the women's 10,000 m at the age of just 20. Narrowly missing the podium twice in the 2005 World Championships in the following year, the lifetime ban for her coach Wang Dexian for doping his athletes in 2006, and recurrent injuries, derailed her following years. A move to marathon running failed to revitalise her career, and Xing effectively retired in 2009.
Shandong Taishan Football Club is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Jinan, Shandong and their home stadium is the Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium that has a seating capacity of 56,808. Their current majority shareholder is Shandong Electric Power Group Corporation, the biggest supplier of electric energy in Shandong province and itself part of the State Grid Corporation of China. The club name Taishan derives from Mount Tai.
The 2010 Asian Games, officially known as the XVI Asian Games and also known as Guangzhou 2010, were a regional multi-sport event that had taken place from November 12 to 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It was the second time China hosted the Asian Games, with the first one being Asian Games 1990 in Beijing.
Originally having participated in Olympics as the delegation of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1924 to 1976, China competed at the Olympic Games under the name of the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the first time in 1952, at the Summer Games in Helsinki, Finland, although they only arrived in time to participate in one event. That year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed both the PRC and ROC to compete, although the latter withdrew in protest. Due to the dispute over the political status of China, the PRC did not participate in the Olympics again until the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, United States. Their first appearance at the Summer Olympic Games after 1952 was the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States. The People's Republic of China staged boycotts of the Games of the XVI Olympiad in Melbourne Australia, Games of the XVII Olympiad in Rome Italy, Games of the XVIII Olympiad in Tokyo Japan, Games of the XIX Olympiad in Mexico City Mexico, Games of the XX Olympiad in Munich Germany, and Games of the XXI Olympiad in Montreal Canada. China also boycott the Games of the XXII Olympiad in Moscow USSR due to the American-led boycott and the ongoing Sino-Soviet split, together with the other countries.
China was the host nation of the 2008 Summer Olympics. China was represented by the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), and the team of selected athletes were officially known as Team China.
The 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, officially known as the II Summer Youth Olympic Games Chinese: 第二届夏季青年奧林匹克运动会; pinyin: Dì'èrjiè Xiàjì Qīngnián Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì, and commonly known as Nanjing 2014, were the second Summer Youth Olympic Games, an international sports, education and cultural festival for teenagers, held from 16 to 28 August 2014 in Nanjing, China. These were the first Youth Olympic Games held in China, making it the first country to host both regular and Youth Olympics following the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
The 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It was directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou and began at 20:00 China Standard Time (UTC+8) on Sunday night, 24 August 2008. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture.
The torch relay for the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games was held between August 28 and September 6 in eleven cities, and also included the tomb of Yellow Emperor.
The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 20:00 China Standard Time (UTC+08:00) on Friday, 8 August 2008, as the number 8 is considered to be auspicious. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture. The artistic part of the ceremony comprised two parts titled "Brilliant Civilization" and "Glorious Era" respectively. The first part highlighted the Chinese civilization and the second part exhibited modern China and its dream of harmony between the people of the world. The stadium was full to its 91,000 capacity according to organizers.
At the 2009 National Games of China, the athletics events were held at the Jinan Olympic Sports Center in Jinan, People's Republic of China from 21–26 October, 2009. The National Games marathon event was held in conjunction with the Beijing Marathon on 18 October.
The 12th National Games of China were held in the northeastern province of Liaoning from 31 August to 12 September 2013. Liaoning was the sixth provincial level host of the games, following Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shandong. A total of 350 events in 31 sports were held at the games.
At the 2005 National Games of China, the athletics events were held at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, PR China from 17 to 22 October 2005. A total of 46 events were contested, 24 by male and 22 by female athletes. The National Games marathon race was held before the main competition, as it was incorporated into that year's Beijing Marathon on 16 October.
The TOSHIBA 2012 Chinese FA Cup was the 14th edition of the Chinese FA Cup. The first round matches began on 26 May 2012, and the finals took place on 10 November and 18 November 2012.
TOSHIBA 2013 Chinese FA Cup is the 15th edition of Chinese FA Cup. The match of first round was kicked off on 31 March 2013, and finished on 7 December 2013.
The 7th National Games of the People's Republic of China was held from September 4 to September 15, 1993 in Beijing. Qi Yunhui started the Games, to be held every four years one year after the Olympic Games. For the opening ceremony, China's major state leaders including CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin, Premier Li Peng, and Vice-premier Zhu Rongji were present. The main current games are hosted by Beijing, Sichuan and Qinhuangdao City. The games played a significant role in Beijing's bid for the 2000 Olympic Games, as they were used to test and see if Beijing was capable of hosting big international meetings.
The opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Paralympics took place on 4 March 2022 at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, China. The Games were opened by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of China.
The 2022 Asian Games opening ceremony was held on 23 September 2023, at the Hangzhou Sports Park Stadium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It began at 8:00pm China Standard Time (UTC+8).
