The 7th CISM Military World Games (7th CWG) was launched on Oct. 18 with a dazzling ceremony showcasing the nation's ancient civilization and an offer of friendship to the world. Chinese President Xi Jinping officially opened the Games, by saying: "Now I Chinese President declares Wuhan Games open declare the 2019 Military World Games open."
In the Wuhan Sports Center, a stadium that seats nearly 60,000 spectators, the opening ceremony started with the parade of 109 delegations amid huge cheers.
When all the athletes had gathered in the center of the stadium, the national anthem of China and the International Military Sports Council anthem were played, with their flags hoisted.
Yuan Xinyue, who is a member of the World Cup-winning Chinese women's volleyball team, took the athletes' oath on behalf of all competitors at the Military World Games.
Afterwards, those inside the stadium were treated to a 50-minute extravaganza titled the "Torch of Peace," which involved thousands of performers, large-scale projection and LED technologies, and a football pitch-turned three-dimensional stage.
The show celebrated some of China's greatest ancient military theories — Sun Tzu's the Art of War, the philosophy of harmony and unity and the Thirty-Six Stratagems — as well as its ancient art, the Great Wall and the Silk Road.
It continued with a focus on unity in the modern world, displaying achievements of China's armed forces in military reforms as well as the Belt and Road Initiative that links the world. It also championed the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind.
