Universiade opening ceremony drill held

Updated: 2011-07-12 10:27

(sz2011.org)

A full-scale drill for the opening ceremony of the Universiade was held on July 9, during which 13,400 students posing as athletes, reporters and officials were transported in 424 buses from the Athletes' Village in Longgang to Shenzhen Bay Sports Center in Nanshan.

The drill started at 8 a.m. and students from Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Polytechnic and Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology gathered at the Athletes' Village for registration and to test the canteens and accommodation capabilities.

Shenzhen Party chief Wang Rong, who visited the athletes' canteens and bedrooms, said Shenzhen would provide a good environment for athletes from throughout the world through the drill which was designed to find and sort out problems.

They assembled at 4:20 p.m. and boarded buses heading for the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center between 4:35 p.m. and 5:35 p.m.

The road test, the last before the opening of the Universiade, had provided valuable experience for police to make detailed plans for transporting athletes and for Universiade safety, police said.

Days ahead of the drill, police had announced the traffic plans to keep inconvenience to a minimum.

About Shenzhen

Shenzhen is located at the southern tip of the Chinese mainland on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Pearl River and neighbors Hong Kong.

The brainchild of Deng Xiaoping, the country's first special economic zone was established here by the Chinese Government in 1980. It has been a touchstone for China's reform and opening-up policy since then.