Given the enormous scale of the event, the Second National Youth Games was a daunting challenge for organizers in Shanxi province.

China's largest youth sports competition featured 49 events - 37 for summer athletes, five for winter athletes and seven combined - with 1,868 gold medals up for grabs among over 12,000 athletes.

Shanxi embraced 34 summer events and two winter events at 58 venues spread across 11 cities. Competitions that could not be held in the province due to unique venue and/or weather requirements were staged in 16 provinces and municipalities across China since January.

To guarantee the quality of the Games and make sure everyone enjoyed Shanxi's hospitality, organizers went all out to ensure that transportation, accommodation, medical support, communication services and venue construction achieved the highest standards.

"From the opening ceremony on July 8 until the closing ceremony on Sunday, the Youth Games welcomed about 28,000 athletes and officials, which was a heavy work load for us," said Zhang Fuming, vice-governor of Shanxi province.

"We had to make comprehensive preparations for security, food and medical safety, volunteer services and the Games' broadcasting and communication services."

Thanks to the state-of-the-art athletes' village in Taiyuan, the competitors enjoyed first-class service.

Located beside Shanxi Sports Center Stadium, the 160,000-square-meter village is comprised of 15 buildings, with 1,900 rooms and 9,500 beds. Each room is equipped with new furniture and appliances, including a TV, air conditioner and washing machine.

The complex also features comprehensive support facilities such as gyms, a medical center, volunteer center, a 3,620-seat canteen and an culture interaction center that offered activities such as traditional ceramics, Chinese Go, paper cutting and even stage dramas.

"Our aim was to provide the athletes and coaches with a safe, convenient and cozy living environment," said Du Junxia, deputy director of the athletes' village committee.

Another vital component of the Games' success was the army of around 45,000 volunteers serving directly at the competitions, at the athletes' village, in administrative or logistical capacities or stationed at every corner of the host cities to assist athletes and visitors alike.

"The volunteers are mainly students and local citizens," Zhao Jing, an official in charge of organizing them, told Shanxi Daily.

"All the volunteers received four rounds of training before the start of the Games. This event represents a great opportunity to show the professionalism of our volunteers and promote the volunteer spirit."

Keeping the Games economically viable was a priority from the start.

"First of all, we had very strict rules... and during the preparations we devised clear financial regulations and rules to prevent any chance of spending unnecessary money," said vice-governor Zhang.

"Secondly, we made a strict budget plan to make sure the money was well spent. We utilized what we have instead of building or buying everything new. After we finalized the budget plan, we stuck strictly to it, without exception.

"We also attracted sponsorship in terms of facilities, equipment, medals, transportation and communication services. From the support of all parties, the sponsorship totaled 420 million yuan ($60 million)."

In terms of construction, only 19 of the 58 venues that were used for the Games were new builds, and most will now be available to the public for use either free of charge or with very low admission prices to fuel the national fitness campaign.

Meanwhile, the Games also became the first major sports event in China to embrace 5G tech to improve the viewer experience.

Unlike on traditional TV broadcasts, 5G users on smartphones, IPTV and other devices enjoyed 360-degree visibility of every competition, with the ability to zoom in or out and choose a variety of camera angles.

The technology was also used in the athletes' village, where a digital tour of Shanxi's most famous attractions was available on IPTV in the competitors' rooms.