China's first cross-boundary National Games puts GBA integration on fast track

China's upcoming 15th National Games offers more than a sports spectacle – it is a driving force for the integration of the Guangdong‑Hong Kong‑Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), leveraging infrastructure, industry and technology across three regions for a "one-hour life-circle" vision.

The 15th edition of the Games will be first the multi-sport event jointly hosted by Guangdong Province, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region, spanning across 19 cities and underscoring a new phase of regional collaboration.

It serves a dual purpose: staging elite sport while catalyzing the GBA's economic and infrastructural ambitions.

The venues and schedule underscore the region's connectivity, with the opening ceremony in Guangzhou, the closing in Shenzhen, Hong Kong hosting eight competition events and a mass-participation bowling event, and Macao holding five competitions including table tennis and karate.

Alongside traditional sports, cross-boundary competitions such as a road-cycling race starting in Zhuhai, passing through Macao and finishing on Hong Kong's Lantau Island are being introduced to showcase seamless mobility across the GBA.

Six coordination areas – cross-border events, port clearance, personnel and vehicle documents, food safety, green event management and event scheduling – have been highlighted by the authorities as core pillars ensuring unified operations across the three regions.

City brain

From an economic perspective, the Games present a platform for the GBA's sports, culture, tourism, smart manufacturing and service sectors to converge. The event is a key node for "dual-wheel" growth – sports plus regional economic development.

In Guangdong, the Games are being powered by advanced smart-city and venue technologies. Guangzhou, the province's capital city, has deployed its "Suizhiguan" city brain platform to coordinate citywide operations and respond to incidents within five minutes, linking autonomous vehicles, power-inspection robots and other intelligent equipment.

Meanwhile, a cloud-based venue management platform integrates internet of things, AI, big data and digital twin visualization to monitor all venues, track personnel and equipment, and turn traditional two-dimensional command into three-dimensional control.

During the Games, AI algorithms will also detect potential risks such as crowding, falls or fire hazards, automatically connecting to nearby video feeds and dispatching staff to handle incidents within minutes.

Officials say 85 percent of the software and devices used for the Games will later be repurposed for urban infrastructure, linking event management and city governance in Guangzhou.

Cooling garments

Hong Kong's contribution centers on smart technology and energy efficiency. Nearly 100 volunteer stations across Guangzhou, where the sticky heat will test everyone, will be equipped with specially designed cooling garments based on passive micro-nano coatings developed by the Fok Ying Tung Research Institute at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The technology lowers temperatures by five degrees Celsius without electricity, saving around 380,000 kWh and reducing nearly 200 tonnes of CO2.

Furthermore, a smartphone navigation system also developed by Hong Kong teams allows spectators to reach their seats quickly, enhancing the viewing experience.

Media reports say about 40 percent of the National Games' core technologies come from Hong Kong, reflecting its broader push to commercialize innovations and integrate into the GBA's tech ecosystem.

"1+4"

The sprawling event also serves as a key driver of Macao's "1+4" economic diversification strategy, which seeks to establish a world-class tourism and leisure hub while developing big health, modern finance, high technology, as well as cultural, sports and trade-related industries.

The city's organizing committee has emphasized the strategic use of existing venues and their integration into broader diversification goals, aiming to leverage the National Games to boost tourism, leisure, smart technology and "city of sports" ambitions.

Looking ahead, experts expect that the Games will leave a legacy of infrastructure, technological upgrades and institutional collaboration, contributing to the GBA's long-term goal of becoming a world-class economic powerhouse.

As the calendar turns to November, the 15th National Games will stand not only as an athletic contest, but as a crucible of integration – bridging venues, people, industries and technologies across the GBA.