On August 8, 2019, the 19th World Police and Fire Games (hereinafter referred 
to as WPFG) officially kicked off inside the Shuangliu District Sports Center 
in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, according to Shuangliu 
District government. As an important component in Chengdu's aim to position 
itself as an internationally famous city for sports competitions, Shuangliu 
District plays host to the opening ceremony of this year's WPFG and a wide 
range of the games' top events.

A biannual competition, this is the first time the WPFG has been hosted in an 
Asian city, and this time nearly 10,000 athletes from 80 nations and regions 
such as the United States, Germany and Canada will participate in this athletic 
spectacle to span a total of ten days.

When asked about why Chengdu was chosen as the host of this year's games, WPFG 
Director Danny Bodycoat replied: "When the Chengdu police force made their 
debut at the games in 2007, their spirit left with us a very distinct 
impression. Over the course of further observations and investigations, we 
discovered that the city of Chengdu is a stand-out in many areas, from passion 
and dedication to professionalism and venue availability, and thus the choice 
was made."

Major International Sports Competition Showcases Chengdu Charisma

In recent years, the city of Chengdu has taken an active approach in attempting 
to position itself as a world-famous sports competition city, exemplified in 
efforts such as the creation of the Tianfu Greenway system and ensuring the 
progress of key projects like the Tianfu Aoti City and Longquan Mountains Urban 
Forest Park. In addition, Chengdu City has also been engaged in promoting the 
integration between culture, sports and tourism, stimulating physical exercises 
among the populace through the "Sports Chengdu" campaign and instigating 
development in its competitive sports and sports industry.

With regard to the fledgling sports scene of Chengdu, Juan Antonio Samaranch 
Jr. once said: "The Chengdu International Marathon is well-known around the 
world, and I believe that Chengdu has already risen as one of the best cities 
in the world to host large-scale sports events."

Just as Mr. Samaranch Jr. remarked, at present an increasingly larger number of 
major international sports contests have chosen Chengdu as its host. Other than 
the ongoing WPFG, Chengdu has also acquired the rights for the World University 
Games in 2021 and the World Games in 2025.

Assembly of International Sports Events in Shuangliu, Famous Airport City for 
Sports Competition Rises to Stardom

As a component crucial to Chengdu's effort to position itself as an 
internationally famous sports competition city, in recent years Shuangliu has 
hosted a rising number of national-level and international sports events. This 
famous airport city for sports competition is ascending at an unbelievable pace.

Since 2014, the "Panda Cup" International Youth Football Tournament has kicked 
off every year on the grounds of the Shuangliu District Sports Center. After 
half a decade of growth, the "Panda Cup" has developed into a cradle where 
future football phenoms are found and forged.  

Since its deubt in 2016, the ATP 250 Chengdu Open has always been held in 
Shuangliu to this day and is currently the highest-caliber international tennis 
competition to ever take place in Chengdu. As such, the Sichuan provincial 
capital joins Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen as the fourth city in China to 
host the ATP Tour.

Furthermore, the Shuangliu Airport International Marathon, Chengdu Women's Half 
Marathon and National Women's Half Marathon Championship, as well as The Belt 
and Road Chengdu-Australian Open University Tennis Championship and a series of 
other international contests have also been held in Shuangliu to fantastic 
fanfare.

Within merely a year, more than ten international sports competitions have 
taken place in Shuangliu to great success, catapulting the district into the 
limelight on the stage of top-notch international sports events.

Comprehensive and Upscale Sports Venues Crucial to Hosting Competitions

The hosting of top-tier sports competitions hinges upon the availability of 
top-class venues. Four decades ago, the only sporting ground in Shuangliu was a 
mud field, but since 2008 Shuangliu has dedicated tremendously to improving its 
sports hardware and facilities.

In July 2008, the Shuangliu District Sports Center was completed and put into 
service, and became a landmark at the heart of the new downtown region of the 
district. Thereafter, the China Modern Pentathlon Events Center, Sichuan 
International Tennis Center, Sichuan Mudi International Golf Club, Chengdu 
Blades Football Club and Sichuan Provincial National Badminton Training Base 
were built. A myriad of high-standard and modernized sports facilities capable 
of meeting the demands for a wide array of  large-scale multi-sports events and 
professional single sport competitions materialized all across Shuangliu, 
providing solid support conducive to the hosting of an even bigger number of 
major international sports events.

Support Facilities Overhaul and Establishment of "City of Sports" for All 
Citizens

Other than magnificent and state-of-the-art sports venues, a flight network 
with global connectivity makes it not only possible but highly convenient for 
athletes from all corners of the world to come to Chengdu Shuangliu to partake 
in large-scale international sports competitions. At present, Shuangliu 
International Airport has 345 flights available including 117 international 
(regional) services, with both the number of routes and layout of routes being 
the best in central and western China. The Shuangliu flight network covers the 
world's five major continents and passengers may reach the majority of the 
world's biggest cities within a 15-hours flight from Shuangliu.

The fabulous green ecology and environment meanwhile are also vital to 
compelling top sports events to choose Shuangliu as its host. As an integral 
part of the city of Chengdu's plan to establish a "garden city", Shuangliu is 
home to the biggest urban wetland park in Asia, the 15,000mu Airport Central 
Park and Pan-City Ecological Scenery Belt, among other projects, which serve to 
drive Shuangliu further on its path to become a famous airport city for sports 
competition.

In the future, Shuangliu will continue to lean on Chengdu's increasingly 
comprehensive greenway system, endeavor to position itself as a "city of 
sports" for all citizens, continue to plan and design routes specially 
dedicated to sports competitions, improve various support facilities and 
functions, introduce more renowned sports clubs or sports organizations to 
establish a presence in Shuangliu, and form an airport sports competition 
cluster. Moreover, Shuangliu will also continue to speed up its pace of 
opening-up, create an aviation economic ecology with international 
competitiveness, and devote itself to becoming the aviation economic capital of 
China.

Source: Shuangliu District Government