6,522 rooms set to accommodate Universiade players

"Welcome Home" is one of the most common signs you would see when wandering inside the FISU Games Village in Chengdu, the host city of the upcoming World University Games. 

This is the first University Games Village to be situated on the campus of a university in the history of the Universiade, said Deng Lina, the manager of the Welcome Center, Main Accreditation Center and Village Pass Center.

Located on the campus of Chengdu University, the village covers a floor area of about 800,000 square meters and has a building area of 600,000 square meters. 

It is divided into a Residential Zone, Operational Zone, International Zone and Transportation Zone. 

The buildings in the village are original buildings that have undergone renovation, Deng told the Global Times. 

The village will be handed over to Chengdu University after the Games, and all the buildings and facilities will then be used for teaching and studying purposes.

The delegation apartments were formerly student dormitories. 

With a total of 6,522 rooms, it can accommodate as many as 11,000 people. 

Each room is between 21-25 square meters in size, with both single-bed rooms and twin-bed rooms. 

According to FISU standards, the head and deputy head of a delegation will live in single rooms, while athletes will live in double rooms, said Dai Dayong, the accommodation services deputy manager of the village.

Accommodation work in the village adheres to green and low-carbon concepts, said Dai. 

"We won't buy equipment that can be rented, and won't rent equipment that can be borrowed. If we do have to buy equipment, we make sure they will be reused after the Games," Dai told the Global Times.

"The TVs, fridges and beds in the apartments are all rented, and the washing machines have been provided by sponsors. They will all be returned after the Games," said Dai.

In addition to apartments, the village provides all kinds of facilities so the delegations can have a nice and comfortable stay in Chengdu, which is the capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

There is a barber shop and a grocery store in the 2,100-square-meter commercial center, which provides postal services and currency exchanges services.

The dining center, which is the former student canteen, covers 17,000 square meters and has a total of 4,340 seats. It opens 20 hours a day, serving four meals per day.

Besides a fitness center which has a capacity of 200 people, there are also basketball and volley courts and a swimming pool so athletes can exercise and relax.

Athletes and FISU staff whose birthdays are between July 22 and August 11 will get a special gift from the village. The Sci-tech Services Workstation will invite them to a 3D photo studio and make a mini-figure of them through 3D printing. 

"Getting an 18-centimeter-high mini-figure like this outside the village might cost around 1,600 yuan [$223], but they will get it free here," Science and Technology Services Senior Staffer Li Jiaying told the Global Times. 

Foreign athletes and staff will also have access to traditional Chinese culture without having to step outside the village. They can experience some of China's intangible cultural heritages such as shadow puppetry, rope weaving, kite making, paper cutting, Hanfu (a type of traditional Chinese clothes) and Chinese calligraphy. 

"We hope participants can truly feel the charm of traditional Chinese culture through these activities," said Ning Ke, the cultural activity manager at the Interactive Experience Center.