President Hu Jintao yesterday announced the opening of the 10th National Games at the Olympic Stadium in Nanjing, capital of the eastern province of Jiangsu, the last National Games before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The 12-day Games, the largest since 1959, will feature 9,985 athletes from 46 delegations competing across 357 events in 32 sports.

At a press conference prior to the opening, vice-director of the State General Administration of Sports, Xiao Tian, emphasized the significance of the event.

"It has very important tasks of rehearsal for the Olympic Games in 2008, and we have done much for that," he said.

According to Xiao, all 28 Olympic sports have a place in the Games, and younger athletes have been encouraged to take part in the competitions to give them a better chance of being selected for the Olympics.

Staff from the Sports Department of Beijing's Olympic organizing committee have worked with colleagues in Nanjing in putting together the National Games, collecting valuable experience for the Olympics, according to China Daily today.

The paper also said media organizations have started making their own preparations for covering the 2008 event, sending large numbers of journalists to the National Games.

Finals had already been held for 16 events, including boxing, diving and fencing, before the opening ceremony.

Another 10 finals took place last night including tennis, volleyball and table tennis and by today, 113 gold medals had been won in 110 events.

Teams from all over the country took part in the parade, including athletes from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

A three-part performance was given by thousands of performers, each section themed around a symbolic color.

The first section was named "Building Resplendence," which mainly featured red lights, representing the Chinese nation's development.

The second, "Splendid Jiangsu," in green, was symbolic of the natural scenery of the Province.

The third, "Strength of the Divine Land," was mainly lit with orange, changing to all the colors of the rainbow, symbolic of the inclusive nature of the Games.

(China Daily October 13, 2005)