Editor: Wang Yiran
2025-11-24 10:09:15
(Source: Poster News)
When 18-year-old Zhang Zhanshuo won five National Games gold medals in a row at the Shenzhen Universiade Center Natatorium, three record-breaking splashes in three days played a strong voice for the new generation of Chinese swimming. At the same time, the “Qingdao Cyclone” of the 15th National Games resounded across both sides of the Pearl River. The result list of 26 gold medals, 14 silver medals and 19 bronze medals, and the glorious moment when 70 Qingdao athletes stepped onto the podium, is by no means an accidental flash of inspiration, but the inevitable result of years of deep cultivation of the fertile sports soil. From the swimming pool to the table tennis table, from the archery range to the sailing venue, the glory of Qingdao sports is filled with stories of hard work and inheritance.
The most touching thing about the “Qingdao Answer Sheet” at the National Games is the perfect connection between the old and the new. 18-year-old Zhang Zhanshuo cut through the blue waves with a wingspan of 2.08 meters. From the 400-meter freestyle to the 1500-meter freestyle, he won five gold medals covering short, middle and long distances, becoming the most dazzling rising star in the National Games swimming pool. The humble attitude after the game that “the results did not meet expectations, I have to sum up when I go back” is exactly the spiritual footnote of Qingdao Sports’ reserve force. The 31-year-old Chen Meng interprets perseverance in another way – without systematic training for nearly a year, she led the Shandong women’s table tennis team to regain the gold medal for the women’s team after 12 years. When she burst into tears on the court, she said “want to win, not afraid of losing”, allowing people to see the veteran’s responsibility and the inheritance of sportsmanship.
In addition to the healthy development of the talent echelon, this brilliance is also reflected in the “multi-point blooming” of the project layout, breaking the single reliance on traditional advantageous projects. On the judo field, Sun Xiaoqian came back to win the championship in the last 0.1 seconds. The words “Perseverance” and “Nirvana” on her belt are not only a reflection of her personal beliefs, but also the epitome of Qingdao Sports’ breakthrough difficulties; in the archery range, 19-year-old Liu Yanxiu and Yu Qi used the courage to kill with one arrow, helping Shandong regain the women’s recurve team championship after 8 years. The voice of Zhang Juanjuan as a role model outlines the inheritance of the Olympic spirit in Qingdao’s sports world; the martial arts routine team won the gold medal for the first time, and road cycling achieved a historic breakthrough. These past “potential advantage projects” are now standing on the podium, confirming the solid foundation of Qingdao’s balanced sports development, and making the city’s sports strength more thick and broad.
The concentrated outbreak in the National Games comes from long-term hard work and system layout outside the stadium. Take the “blowout” of swimming as an example: from the establishment of the team in the 1960s, to the introduction of well-known coaches to lay the foundation, to the “instruction” of famous generals such as Liu Ziqian after their retirement, they transformed into grassroots coaches. Decades of accumulation have made the swimming pool a cradle of talents. In the past 10 years, Qingdao has continued to hold high-level swimming competitions, and the judo project has brought this sport into the streets by holding international open competitions and world grand prix competitions, which not only creates an atmosphere but also solidifies the basis for talent selection.
Sports is not an isolated competition, but a “booster” for urban development. Qingdao is using sports as a bridge to build a modern international metropolis. The vigorous development of the sports industry and the continued implementation of high-level events not only directly drive consumption and promote economic growth, but also enhance the city’s international influence and comprehensive competitiveness. This year’s Asian Badminton Mixed Team Championships held in Qingdao attracted 200 athletes from 12 countries. The total number of interactions on the entire network was about 200 million times, driving direct economic benefits of about 30 million; the number of participants in the 2025 Qingdao Marathon reached 25,000, and the number of applicants reached a record high of 178,000. These data are a vivid footnote of sports empowering urban development.
In order to make the foundation of sports development more solid, Qingdao has made efforts in both directions in terms of hardware facilities and policy support. In terms of venue construction, Qingdao encourages social forces to participate in the construction of sports venues, supports the use of idle facilities to renovate venues, and relies on the unique mountain and sea resources to build outdoor sports venues, tap idle urban space to create multi-functional sports venues, promote free or low-cost sports facilities to be opened to the public, and allow citizens to share the fruits of sports development. In terms of industry and talent support, Qingdao provides corporate income tax and other related preferential treatment to recognized high-tech sports enterprises, and supports the development of digital scene applications such as VR game viewing and AI fitness personal training. It holds more than 80 professional events such as the Chinese Super League, Chinese League One, and CBA throughout the year, and strives to build high-level professional clubs. In 2024, the number of on-site spectators at these events will exceed 800,000, driving consumption of more than 200 million yuan. Policy dividends are continuing to be transformed into strong driving forces for sports development.
The 15th National Games has concluded, but the wave of sports in Qingdao has never stopped. From the “hometown of swimming” and “hometown of track and field” to the “city of sailing”, from the National Games venue to the Olympic stage, this city of mountains and seas is moving steadily forward on the road to becoming a strong sports city with a broader mind and a more solid pace. As Zhang Zhanshuo said, when you step off the podium, you have to start from scratch. This humility and enterprising spirit are the core password for the sustainable development of Qingdao sports. I believe that between the mountains and the sea, the next glory of Qingdao Sports is quietly gestating and waiting to bloom.
Xinwang commentator Lu Yunqi
[来源：信网 编辑：王熠冉]
Manuscripts copyrighted by Xinwang. For reprinting, please contact Xinwang for authorization (email: news@qdxin.cn). Reproduction without permission is prohibited.
