China’s 15th National Games, the country’s highest-level and largest national multi-sport event, closed in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on Friday evening.
The closing ceremony began at 20:00, as athletes from 37 delegations representing China’s provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and three sports associations marched into the venue amid uplifting music and warm applause from the audience.
Six elite Chinese athletes perform at the closing ceremony of China’s 15th National Games, Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, November 21, 2025. /VCG
One of the highlights at the ceremony was a performance by six elite Chinese athletes – men’s 100m Asian record holder Su Bingtian; China’s most decorated Olympian, table tennis player Ma Long; Paris Olympics champion and 100m freestyle world record holder Pan Zhanle; Paris Olympics champion twin sisters, synchronized swimmers Wang Liuyi and Wang Qianyi; and Wang Shuang, the 2018 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Player of the Year. Together, they sang the official theme song of the 15th National Games on stage.
Cutting-edge technologies dominated the gala performance of the closing ceremony, featuring naked-eye 3D, smart wearables, 5G cloud control and driverless technologies, among others. This high-tech gala reflected Shenzhen’s status as China’s technology hub.
Cutting-edge technologies dominated the gala performance of the closing ceremony of China’s 15th National Games, Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, November 21, 2025. /VCG
It was the first time that the closing ceremony was held on an open-air seaside stage, with the sea and sky serving as a natural backdrop and the cityscape as part of the scenery.
China’s 15th National Games, held from November 9 to 21, was co-hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, marking the first time the Greater Bay Area has jointly hosted the country’s premier multi-sport event. The Games featured 34 sports and 419 events in the competitive program, as well as 23 sports and 166 events in the mass participation program.
The sporting event set eight world records, five world youth records, 13 Asian records, 10 Asian youth records, 14 national records, and seven national youth records across disciplines, including athletics, swimming, shooting, weightlifting, track cycling, and sport climbing.
Notably, athletes in 12 events at the Games delivered performances that surpassed the winning marks set at the Paris Olympics, underscoring the growing global competitiveness of Chinese sports.
