A group photo after Zhang Mingmin’s concert. (Photo provided by interviewee)

Pei Xingguo, on the third position from the left in the first row.

Datianwan Stadium is the first Grade A stadium since the establishment of the PR China as well as a symbol for sports in Chongqing.

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Every story has a beginning, and the story of Chongqing sports over several decades starts from Datianwan Stadium.

Datianwan Stadium is the first Grade A stadium since the founding of People’s Republic of China and was the home field of the Chinese Football Association Super League in Chongqing. It witnessed the beginning of Chongqing sports and is also the symbol for it. As time goes on, the function of Datianwan Stadium has changed.

Citizens voluntarily filled a valley and laid the foundation

In 1956, the Datianwan Stadium was completed with an area of 120,000 square meters, which is the first Grade A stadium after the founding of People’s Republic of China. Two years later, the 28-year-old Pei Xingguo began his work at the stadium where he dedicated his later life.

Pei recalled that before the construction of stadium, Datianwan was still a valley and needed to be filled. Therefore, the municipal government mobilized cadres and citizens to voluntarily participate in the construction. They helped flatten the slopes next to the Tiaosan Tower, and then filled the valley of Datianwan with the soil of the hillsides.