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China's sports stars to join in National Day celebration

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-28 09:11

BEIJING: A host of elite Chinese athletes will take part in the National Day celebrations on October 1, a top sports official said on Sunday.

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"A Beijing Olympics-theme float will show up during the parade on the National Day, with several Olympic gold medalists, Olympic volunteers and Olympic venue constructors on board," Liu Peng, Minister of the State General Administration of Sport of China, told a press conference.

Liu refused to disclose their names, only saying that several Beijing Olympic champions will be among them.

Four days before the 60th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China, Liu said the country has made remarkable achievement in sports over the past 60 years.

"There are over 850,000 sports facilities in the country, more than 200 times those before the founding of The People's Republic of China. The sporting field is 1.03 square meters per person, which is 100 times that for 1949," Liu said.

Chinese athletes have won 2,310 world titles, broken or evened the world records by 1,195 times by August, 2009, according to Liu. At last year's Olympic Games, host China finished as the top gold-medal winner for the first time in Olympics history.

China has also become the biggest sportswear manufacture in the world, and the China Sport Show, which has been held 24 editions, is the third largest in the world, Liu said.

"The sports industry has developed so fast that it has become a highlight of Chinese economy. The government is working to create better social and economic environment for the greater development of sports industry," Liu added.