The opening ceremony of China's 14th National Games was held Wednesday night at Xi'an Olympic Sports Center in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

A torch relay featuring six athletes with outstanding performances, including sprinter with Asian speed Su Bingtian and swimmer Zhang Yufei took place during the opening ceremony, and first gold medal recipient at Tokyo Olympics Yang Qian lit the main flame in the venue.

Billed as a "mini-Olympics" in the country, more than 12,000 athletes are set to compete in the final stage of the 14th Chinese National Games, including dozens of gold medalists from Tokyo, marking strikingly fierce competition in some events.

The Games, which runs from September 15 to 27, feature a total of 54 sports and 595 events, and 35 sports and 410 events are set for the elite athletes, while the remainder are for the grassroots. 

The athletes representing provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the sporting associations of the railway and coal-mining industries, as well as sports institutes and clubs, will be competing in the quadrennially-held event. 

In line with a focus on the post-Games utilization of the venues, most events will be held in Shaanxi Province, while sailing, canoe slalom, surfing, break-dance, fencing and cycling track staged in other provinces and municipalities.

A string of anti-virus measures including vaccinations, nucleic acid test, closed-loop management and health monitoring are in place for the safety of each participant.

Games organizers have vowed to adopt a zero-tolerance stance toward doping, as more than 200 officers will conduct a record number of doping tests during the Games.

(With input from Xinhua)