Chengdu goes all-in on sustainability with eco-friendly, cutting-edge venues
Dong’an Lake Sports Park, whose main stadium hosted the opening ceremony of the Chengdu FISU World University Games, is equipped with a state-of-the-art energy monitoring system that records real-time data and analyzes the energy consumption of facilities. (PHOTO / XINHUA AND PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Smart, green and sustainable. The state-of-the-art venues at the Chengdu FISU World University Games aim to provide participants with the best possible competition environments. More importantly, the venues will continue to benefit the local community long after the conclusion of the global sports gala.
Among the 49 venues of the games, which kicked off on July 28, 36 have been renovated, while the remaining 13 newbuilds have been designed and constructed with sustainability a top priority.
The Chengbei Gymnasium, one of Chengdu’s most iconic sports venues, is typical of how the city is utilizing existing facilities. Built in 1973, the gymnasium boasts a floor area of over 20,000 square meters. It will serve as the competition and training venue for wushu (Chinese martial arts).
Shuangliu Sports Center. (PHOTO / XINHUA AND PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Sichuan Water Sports School. (PHOTO / XINHUA AND PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
The venue was a roofless, open-air stadium in the 1970s, mostly used by locals for playing basketball. Through the years, the gymnasium has undergone several renovations, while it has also staged music concerts and even housed an electronics market in the 1990s.
Over the past decade, the Chengbei Gymnasium has doubled as a venue for professional sports events and a place for residents to play sports such as table tennis and badminton. The gym will reopen to the public after the games.
“The Chengbei Gymnasium is just like a very old friend to the local people. I’m happy to see it become a venue for the World University Games. It’s like an old friend but with very new energy,” said Liu Linglin, a staff member at the gym.
To better cater to modern sports competitions, the games venues have been outfitted with high-tech equipment.
Fenghuangshan Sports Park, the venue for the closing ceremony of the Chengdu FISU World University Games. (PHOTO / XINHUA AND PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
For instance, the basketball venue at Fenghuangshan Sports Park boasts a state-of-the-art operational system, which provides a live feed of the venue’s temperature, humidity, hydraulic pressure and lighting metrics.
“In the old times, staff at the sports venues could only use handwritten charts to check and record the various operational data one by one inside a venue. Now with this system, we can monitor all the information at once on the live feed,” said Wei Tianyou, who is in charge of facility operations and maintenance at Fenghuangshan Sports Park.
One of the monitoring system’s biggest advantages is the savings it delivers.
“It helps us to reduce energy consumption by up to 15 percent. The system can detect the number of people inside the venue in real-time, and based on that, can adjust the air-conditioning,” said Wei.
Chengbei Gymnasium Sports Center. (PHOTO / XINHUA AND PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
High-Tech Zone Sports Center. (PHOTO / XINHUA AND PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Chengdu Music Park. (PHOTO / XINHUA AND PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Dong’an Lake Sports Park Multipurpose Gymnasium. (PHOTO / XINHUA AND PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
He added that based on actual operational experience, the system helps increase the efficiency of facility operations by about 20 percent and also prolongs the life cycle of equipment by 20 percent.
Shuangliu Sports Center is another venue set to benefit from a high-tech upgrade, undergoing a comprehensive transformation to host athletics and badminton.
“In terms of the center’s gymnasium, where the badminton will be staged, the current facilities and equipment meet the standards of major international sports events. Because it was built in 2008, there were quite a lot of things that needed to be upgraded, such as the floors, lights, and cables,” said Yu Jian, who is in charge of the gymnasium at the center.
Meanwhile, the equipment at the center’s main stadium, which will host athletics competitions, has also been refurbished to host the world’s best student-athletes.
Jianyang Cultural and Sports Center. (PHOTO / XINHUA AND PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Sichuan Gymnasium Sports Center. (PHOTO / XINHUA AND PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Xindu Xiangcheng Sports Center. (PHOTO / XINHUA AND PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
When not hosting major events, the sports center is a popular spot for locals to exercise.
He Shiquan, a local resident, told Xinhua New Agency that he goes to the gym almost every day to exercise and that the venues are mostly free or only charge a little.
“I’m so proud that my hometown is the host of the World University Games,” said He.
The games have triggered a wave of sports enthusiasm in Chengdu. Since April, the Shuangliu district, where the sports center is located, hosted a series of grassroots sports activities. After the games, the sports center will once again be open to the public.
