Sanya, located on the "edge of heaven and in a corner of the sea" in South China's Hainan province, is one of most popular tourist destinations in China, and in 2020, the beautiful and romantic city will also serve as a sports venue.

From Nov 28 to Dec 6, the sixth Asian Beach Games will be held in the coastal city. It will be the first time that the province will host a continental-level sports event.

On Thursday, the organizing committee of the sixth Asian Beach Games introduced the details and preparation works to media. The committee is pushing forward the preparation for the Asian Beach Games, including personnel and volunteers' recruitment, mascot release, facilities and infrastructure construction, marketing and publicity.

"The Asian Beach Games' concept perfectly matches the city's image. Sanya not only has natural conditions and facilities to hold the games, but also has the corresponding cultures and emotional identity," Ye Kaizhong, vice-secretary of the organizing committee, said.

He added that the 2020 Asian Beach Games will not merely be about sports, but an integration of sports, culture and tourism, so Sanya will do everything possible to be a responsible host.

"It's hoped that the games can take the opportunity of the province's good timing of building the Hainan Free Trade Port and Free Trade Zone to further boost the development at all levels in the province," Ye said.

When asked whether the city was ready to handle the large number of athletes and spectators, he said Sanya was focusing on city landscape, ecological environment, tourism service and market supervision in order to carry out projects that are language barrier-free international-level projects, as a way to better serve the games.

Also, the Sanya International Sports Industrial Park, which has been under construction since this March, will be a comprehensive stadium that will accommodate 40,000 people, a gymnasium with 10,000 capacity, and a swimming pool with 3,000 capacity, which will better support the games, according to an official in charge.

"We want to show the world a green and energetic city with great hospitality and sports spirit, and I think it's a great chance to present China," Ye said.

The Asian Beach Games was inaugurated in Bali in Indonesia in 2008 and was followed by competitions in Muscat in Oman in 2010, Haiyang in China in 2012, Phuket in Thailand in 2014 and Danang in Vietnam in 2016.

On Oct 25, the Games' emblem and slogan "See ya in Sanya" were officially announced. A total of 17 competition items are set for the Asian Beach Games 2020 and it's expected that more than 4,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions will take part in the competition.