HEFEI, East China, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Although the 4th All-China Games hasn't started, the idea of "Happy Sports" has already swept Hefei, the host city of the big sports event.

"Go Go Go!", "Come on!", "Defense!" Loud but young voices were heard from time to time in the futsal soccer stadium of Hefei Gymnasium.

A friendly match between Bengbu Road primary school and Hongqiao primary school was held with a few days ahead of the Games which kicks off on Sunday.

Children around 10 years old spared no efforts to show their skills on the futsal court. They were running, passing the ball, dribbling and shooting, as if they would never feel tired.

"Score!" These little futsal players hugged and cheered, their little red faces beaming with excitement.

Farinha, head coach of China's futsal national team, watched the special match. Afterwards, the Brazilian gave some simple but useful instructions to the little kids while one of his assistants showed the kids his fabulous dribbling skills, which made the kids cheer and hail.

"Soccer should bring people fun," Said Farinha. "I can see the happiness through eyes of these kids."

Getting more of China's 1.3 billion people involved in sport was one of the legacy aims of the Beijing Olympics, where China topped the medals table with 51 golds.

The All-China Games was started at this background and it is a pageant for China's non-Olympic sport events. One of the aims is to promote sport and the whole event is dubbed a "national fitness program".

Chinese sports experts claimed the development of the All-China Games showed that the Chinese people began to pay more attention to the popularity of sports and fun of sports instead of the results of competitions.

The 4th Games marks a major expansion in terms of the number of participants, up from 4,000 to 30,000. It will also include 34 sports, 17 more than the inaugural Games in 2000, and a new awarding system will be adopted, which will see 60 percent of the participants receive some sort of award.

Besides, there are more entertaining and fashion sports showing up in the games, such as rock climbing, roller skating, and water-skiing.

"Compared to the first three All-China Games, the biggest highlight of the fourth is we will make use of the event to carry out comprehensive reform, making sports closer to people," said Feng Jianzhong, deputy director of State General Administration of Sports.

The governments of Anhui Province and Hefei city have put huge investment into public fitness facilities in the parks and communities in the city. A ball-games stadium, a fitness training hall, a roller-skating field, and rock climbing venues were newly built. Maintenance and reconstruction of the Hefei Gymnasium and Natatoriums have been completed.

When the 4th Games ends, all these venues will be open to the public.

Eighty-four exercise centers will also be set in the rural areas of Hefei, making peasants enjoy the fun of sports, according to an official of the Hefei Sports Bureau.

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