The opening ceremony of the 12th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities is held in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, on November 22, 2024. /CFP

The opening ceremony of the 12th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities is held in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, on November 22, 2024. /CFP

The opening ceremony of the 12th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities is held in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, on November 22, 2024. /CFP

The opening ceremony of the 12th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities is held in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, on November 22, 2024. /CFP

The opening ceremony of the 12th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities is held in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, on November 22, 2024. /CFP

The 12th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities opened in the southern Chinese city of Sanya on November 22. More than 5,000 performers participated in a two-hour opening ceremony attended by 35,000 spectators, and each ethnic minority delegation put on a 30-second performance.

Over the next eight days, nearly 7,000 athletes representing China's 56 ethnic groups will compete in more than 160 events under 18 types of sports. Among them, there are various traditional sports beloved by people of the ethnic groups, such as crossbow shooting, single-bamboo drifting and pearl ball.