With the crisp autumn air and the fragrance of fruits in the air, from September 6 to 15, the China Zhangye Outdoor Sports Festival & Zaoxiang Linze Camping Rally was held in Linze. Various outdoor activities such as a mini fun marathon, mountain bike racing, fishing competitions, and photography contests attracted numerous outdoor sports enthusiasts from both within and outside the province to actively participate.
On the morning of the 7th, Ma Saimin, Vice President of the Provincial Sports Federation and President of the Provincial Mountaineering and Outdoor Sports Association, attended the opening ceremony and announced the opening of the 2014 China Zhangye Outdoor Sports Festival & Zaoxiang Linze Camping Rally. Wang Haifeng, Vice Mayor of the Municipal Government, also attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech, while Liu Yanfu, Vice Chairman of the Municipal CPPCC, was present at the event.
At 9 a.m., one of the camping rally events—the Liusha River Mini Fun Marathon—started with a gunshot. Participants from four categories—professional, employee, campus, and public groups—set off from the camping base, traveling along Xiaokang Road, South Ring Road, Construction Road, and Binhe Road toward the Liusha River Scenic Area. That day, Linze enjoyed a clear blue sky, and the Liusha River Scenic Area was particularly picturesque. In the scenic area, participants tackled a series of fun competitions including inflatable pools, fish-leaping-the-dragon-gate, inflatable hurdles, cooperative walking races, single-plank bridges, three-legged races, and net-crawling passages over a 10-kilometer course before finally reaching the endpoint at Danxia Mountain.
It is reported that the China Zhangye Outdoor Sports Festival is a premium event carefully crafted by the Zhangye Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government based on their strategic goal of leading regional transformation and leapfrog development, as well as creating a more attractive livable and tourist-friendly city. The aim is to widely promote national fitness activities and foster the integrated development of regional tourism with ecology, culture, and sports. Following the successful hosting of the 2013 China Zhangye Outdoor Sports Festival — Linze Dashar River Mini Fun Marathon, the Linze County Party Committee and County Government, themed around “Celebrating Mid-Autumn Together & Exploring Zaoxiang Linze,” meticulously organized the Zaoxiang Linze Camping Rally to fully showcase the charm of Linze. On the afternoon of the 6th, over 400 outdoor sports enthusiasts from both within and outside the province set up camp at the Linze Red Date Cultural Park. On the 7th, outdoor sports carnival events such as the mini fun marathon, Danxia Avenue Mountain Bike Race, and fishing competition were successively held in the Liusha River Scenic Area. Enthusiasts from across the country as well as local officials and residents eagerly joined in, experiencing the ecological beauty of Linze through fun-filled sports. On the evening of the 7th, the county hosted an awards and fellowship evening at the camping base, where hundreds of outdoor sports enthusiasts and local residents gathered to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival with performances and talent shows filled with laughter and joy. The county will also hold a photography contest themed “Celebrating Mid-Autumn Together & Exploring Zaoxiang Linze.” Participants are encouraged to take photos of Linze’s scenery and camping activities during the event period and upload them to various websites. The County Sports Center will tally click-through rates before 6 p.m. on September 15 and award prizes accordingly.
In recent years, the county has successfully hosted a series of events including the National Women's Basketball League Top Four Match, the Provincial Mountain Bike Cross-Country Race, the 11th Tour of Qinghai Lake International Road Cycling Race, the 2013 China Zhangye Outdoor Sports Festival — Linze Dashar River Mini Fun Marathon, and the China Zhangye Ultra 100km Extreme Cross-Country Race. It has also been honored with titles such as National First Batch of Advanced Sports Counties, National Advanced Collective in Professional Training, National Advanced County in Implementing the National Fitness Program, and National Advanced Unit in National Fitness. (Wang Xiaoxia, Shang Youlong, Li Cunyin, Wang Maogang)