Players compete during a basketball game at the 11th Guangzhou Friendship Games. [Photo by Song Jinyu/ycwb.com]

The 11th Guangzhou Friendship Games 2019 took place from Nov 2 to 3 at Tianhe Sports Center in Guangzhou, gathering 1,164 competitors from more than 70 countries and regions.

Competitors of this year's event were from Guangzhou's 13 universities, 11 consulates general, over 20 municipal government departments and companies, as well as foreign trade associations.

The event, hosted by the foreign affairs office of Guangzhou municipal government departments, set up six competition programs: basketball, five-a-side football, tennis, badminton, table tennis, and bowling. This year's competitions are a significant expansion from the simple hiking activity that was organized for the 1st Guangzhou Friendship Games in 1988.

This year's event was held to coincide with the commemorative meeting celebrating 40 years of international sister cities in Guangzhou, allowing participants of the event from home and abroad to witness the growth in the number of Guangzhou’s sister cities.

The Guangzhou Friendship Games has provided a platform for expats living and working in Guangzhou to carry out more communications and letting them experience the city's openness, harmony, and inclusiveness.