On October 10,the press conference for the “Beautiful China” Four Seasons Guizhou 2018 GuiyangQingzhen Half Marathon was successfully held.Aspart of the “Beautiful China” Marathon Series,the “Beautiful China” Four Seasons Guizhou 2018 GuiyangQingzhen Half Marathonwill be heldthis28th inQingzhen..
The “Beautiful China” Marathon Series is one of the “China-themed” events developed by the Athletics Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China. With strong support from the Chinese Athletics Association,it will focus on branding, market development, professionalism, participant experience, and promotion to make the“Beautiful China” Marathon Series a star series with significant sports industry value among domestic marathons.
The 2018 Guiyang Qingzhen Half Marathonis organized by the Chinese Athletics Association, the Guiyang Sports Bureau, and the People’s Government of Qingzhen City. It aims to integrate Guizhou's cultural tourism projects to offer runners a chance to run through, explore, enjoy, savor, and feel nostalgic about Guizhou—building up Guizhou’s“industrialization of tourism projects.” At the same time, taking the event as an opportunity, it showcases Qingzhen’s excellent ecological environment, rich ethnic tourism culture, and unique food elements to boost the city’s efforts in eco-conservation, tourism, and poverty alleviation, enhancing Qingzhen’s visibility and reputation both within the province and nationwide.
A relevant official from Qingzhen City stated that this event will be a strong practice of the integrated development model of“culture + sports + tourism.” Through the event, advantageous resources such as natural scenery, cultural assets, development achievements, ecological construction, and nostalgia culture will be elevated into tourism resources. By providing a full-industry-chain service under the “culture + sports + tourism” model, it responds to upgraded consumption trends, advocates national fitness, creates a high-end event IP, activates Qingzhen’s comprehensive tourism elements, promotes the transformation and upgrading of Qingzhen’s tourism services, and supports the construction of a world-famous tourism city and an international mountain tourism destination, striving to write a new chapter in the development of a “green and beautiful Qingzhen” in the new era.
The title sponsor of this event, Four Seasons Guizhou, is one of the all-for-one tourism projects vigorously developed by Qingzhen City. The project integrates a water park, hot springs, a ski resort, a golf course, and commercial districts, aiming to become the most accommodating, best-serviced, most fully equipped, most distinctive, and most far-reaching tourism complex in Qingzhen.
According to reports,the 2018 GuiyangQingzhen Half Marathonwill start at8:00 a.m. on October 28. The full distance is 21.0975 kilometers, featuring both a half marathon and a fun run. The half marathon will start from Qingzhou Avenue (Four Seasons Guizhou), passing through Vocational Education Road, Binhu Road, Yunling Middle Road, Yunzhan Road, Nostalgia Boulevard (turnaround), Longfeng Avenue, Longfeng Bridge, General Stone Road, Vocational Education Road (turnaround), Jinqing Road (turnaround), and Baima Avenue, ending back at Qingzhou Avenue (Four Seasons Guizhou). The fun run is 4 kilometers long, starting from Qingzhou Avenue (Four Seasons Guizhou), passing through Vocational Education Road and Binhu Road, and ending at Baihua Road (Time Guizhou).
Currently, the preparations for the event are progressing in an orderly manner, with a total of5,000 runners expected to participate. Among them, the half marathon is limited to participants aged 16 and above, with a maximum of 2,000 registrants; the fun run is open to those aged 10 and above, with a limit of 3,000 registrants. Participants may sign up for only one of the two events, and registration will close once the quotas are filled. Online registration started on September 29 and will end on October 15, 2018, at 18:00 or when any single event reaches its limit.