The 14th Guangzhou Friendship Games were held at Tianhe Sports Center, Guangzhou, from October 17 to 18, drawing 1,227 participants from 80 countries and regions in a celebration of sport and international friendship.
The event brought together international students, consular officials, local residents and representatives from 12 universities and 14 consulates general in Guangzhou, who competed in sports including seven-a-side football, basketball, badminton, table tennis, tennis, bowling and pickleball.
Since its launch in 1998, the biennial event has become a flagship platform for expatriates and local residents to deepen friendships, exchange ideas and showcase the city's open and inclusive spirit.
On the football pitch, the Southern Medical University team emerged victorious with a 2-0 win over South China Agricultural University. Mohammed Badauod, a Yemeni master's student in plastic surgery, said the team had trained for a long time for the tournament.
"We just got out of the match where we won 2-0," he said, gesturing to a teammate. "We played very well." His teammate Ryad, an Algerian undergraduate in dental surgery, described the game as hard-fought. "We gave it all. We tried to focus on everything. And we scored two goals, which helped us to win."
For many international students, the games were about more than competition. Badauod, who has lived in China for eight years and completed his bachelor's degree before pursuing a master's, said Guangzhou is one of his favorite cities in China.
"The Chinese are very welcoming to us. There is a very good, warm atmosphere," he said, noting that China offers foreigners opportunities to study and build their future careers.
Anahita, an Iranian student of clinical medicine at Guangzhou Medical University, said she had been excited since the night before. "I wish the best for all teams and all other games, and hope they do their best," she said.
She praised the event for bringing students from different universities together. "In our university, we also get together with each other to play the game, and in a way, a friendship happens."
Living in Guangzhou, she added, is "amazing" thanks to the friendly people and sense of security. "They are really, really helpful in many things, and I live here totally without any fear."
Xu Shichao, the team leader for Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, brought 24 students from the university's international college. He said the students had trained for nearly a month and arrived in high spirits. "It may be the year with the largest number of enrolled players," he said, adding that participation is likely to grow in the future.
The games also reflected the city's commitment to inclusiveness beyond the field. Tariq (Alkhatatbeh), a Jordanian postdoctoral researcher in joint surgery at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, served as a medical staff member at the on-site emergency station.
Having spent 15 years in China completing his bachelor's, master's, and PhD, he described his experience as "a total immersion in Chinese culture and the Chinese language" and in Chinese medical practices, particularly orthopedics.
"Guangzhou thinks about foreigners and international people," he said. "In general, it's really friendly and very welcoming. They have a lot of events and they do consider foreigners in every policy. I think that's pretty nice."
Reporter | Guo Chuhua
Photo | Guo Chuhua
Video | Pan Jiajun
