The idea of such a year had first been announced by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Tatyana Golikova at the 21st meeting of the Russian-Chinese Commission for Humanitarian Cooperation, and was later confirmed by President Vladimir Putin.

Indeed, in the next two years, both China and Russia (if the pandemic permits it) will host several major international competitions. After the Olympics, the PRC is welcoming the Paralympic and Summer Asian Games, and the city of Yekaterinburg will host the Summer World University Games in 2023.

The New Year was met with enthusiasm by our twin-cities.

Chengdu, for example, immediately set its mind on finding out what sports are most popular in Volgograd universities. As it turned out, they are virtually the same as in Chengdu itself: volleyball, basketball, football, badminton, table tennis, athletics and swimming. The Chinese partners were a little surprised only by the omnipresence of darts and by such exotic sports as orienteering (at Volgograd State Agrarian University) and obstacle courses (at the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration).

The Jilin Province (where Volgograd's sister city of the same name is located) is aspiring to become a world center for winter sports. And it aims big: the project designed to promote them among the new generation, has the ambitious title "A Million Young People on Snow and Ice."

Qujing favors traditional football: it was there that the U-21 international tournament was held.