The logo is derived from the geometric patterns on artifacts of the Warring States period and the Western Han Dynasty unearthed in Jinan, Shandong.

Also, the main venue for the games, the Jinan Olympic Sports Center, is also known as Donghe Xiliu (East Willow, West Lotus) due to its distinctive architecture.

Mirroring the 2008 Olympic Games, a torch relay began on August 1, 2009, at Mount Taishan, a cultural site with a tradition of spiritual pilgrimages.

The flame was lit in a sun ray ceremony by Beijing Olympics gold medalists archer Zhang Juanjuan and diver Wang Feng.

The route of the torch relay was (in chronological order): Mount Taishan, Shandong → Beijing → Tianjin → Shijiazhuang, Hebei → Shenyang, Liaoning → Changchun, Jilin → Harbin, Heilongjiang → Hohhot, Inner Mongolia → Taiyuan, Shandong → Xi'an, Shaanxi → Lanzhou, Gansu → Xining, Qinghai → Ürümqi, Xinjiang → Lhasa, Tibet → Kunming, Yunnan → Chengdu, Sichuan → Chongqing → Guiyang, Guizhou → Nanning, Guangxi → Changsha, Hunan → Zhengzhou, Henan → Hefei, Anhui → Nanchang, Jiangxi → Guangzhou, Guangdong → Haikou, Hainan → Macau → Hong Kong → Fuzhou, Fujian → Hangzhou, Zhejiang → Shanghai → Nanjing, Jiangsu.

The Shandong leg included the following cities (in chronological order): Qingdao → Weihai → Yantai → Weifang → Rizhao → Linyi → Zaozhuang → Jining → Heze → Liaocheng → Dezhou → Binzhou → Dongying → Zibo → Laiwu → Tai'an → Jinan.

The Chinese President, Hu Jintao, started the official opening ceremony on October 16, which featured an extensive firework display and a large scale music and dance performance at the Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium, nicknamed Xiliu (西柳), literally "West Willow", due to its resemblance to the city tree, the Chinese willow.

Liu Peng, who had headed the organising committee for the 2008 Beijing Olympics,[2] stressed the role the Games played in improving the standard of sport in China, and also its importance in promoting fitness as a whole.

[3] In order to qualify for the Games, a random selection of 30–50% of the athletes in the track and field events had to pass an exam,[4] which tested knowledge of anti-doping policy, the damage associated with drug use, and methods of self-protection from banned substances.

This measure was partly a reaction to the positive test of gold medallist Sun Yingjie at the 2005 Games, which had caused bad publicity for the event.