Yang Qian serves as torchbearer at National Games

The main torch is lit at the opening ceremony of the 14th National Games, which was held in Xi'an, the capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, on the evening of Sept 15. [Photo/IC]

The 14th National Games opened in Xi'an, the capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, on the evening of Sept 15.

Billed as China's "mini Olympics", the quadrennial National Games, which was inaugurated in 1959, features an Olympic style program with the addition of the Chinese martial arts sport of wushu.

More than 12,000 athletes from across the nation will compete in this year's Games, which will run until Sep 27.

Yang Qian, Su Bingtian, Zhang Yufei, Qin Kai, Guo Wenjun, and Ma Long served as the torch bearers at the opening ceremony of the Games.

Yang, who is from Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, won gold medals in the women's 10-meter air rifle and 10-meter air rifle mixed team competitions at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

Olympic gold medalist Yang Qian celebrates on the podium in Tokyo on July 24, 2021. [Photo/IC]