On October 30, the China Fitness Famous Mountains Mountaineering Race concluded successfully in Pingtian Mountain, Guigang, Guangxi, also serving as the closing event of the 2016 season. Runners who have accompanied the race for years gathered in Guigang, Guangxi, and summited Pingtian Mountain together.
Guigang is an ancient prefecture with a history of over two thousand years and also a vibrant emerging inland river port city. Upon entering Guigang, one can immediately sense the local customs and unique urban atmosphere. The roads are lined with lush greenery, and the air is moist, a stark contrast to the cold and dry north. Covering a total area of 10,600 square kilometers with a population of 5.48 million, Guigang is home to 780,000 ethnic minorities including Zhuang, Yao, and Miao. Guigang is also nicknamed the “City of Lotus” due to East Lake, a large lake within the city where lotuses are extensively cultivated. Every summer and autumn, the lotus flowers emerge from the water, their verdant leaves stretching to the sky, blooming brilliantly under the sun, filling the air with fragrance and attracting numerous tourists eager to witness the spectacle. In autumn and winter, it becomes the season for lotus root harvest, and the lotus root powder produced during this time is particularly sweet, which is why the lotus has been honored as the city flower of Guigang. It is only after arriving in Guigang that one learns that the Taiping Rebellion, a shocking event in modern Chinese history that garnered international attention, originated here. It is also the birthplace of early revolutionary activities of the Guangxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. In recent years, Guigang has undergone tremendous changes — roads have widened, new streets have been added, making it the only prefecture-level city in the country where every county is connected by high-speed rail, expressway, and waterways. Tea shops, eateries, and cafes can be found everywhere on the streets, so traveling here is not only convenient in terms of transportation but also extremely easy when it comes to dining.
This edition of the Famous Mountains Race set its course in the Pingtian Mountain Scenic Area of Guigang, which lies 20 kilometers from the city center. Named for its expansive mountaintop, Pingtian Mountain features a total of three rest shelters along the route, each thoughtfully placed. The first shelter spans the mountain ridge, where cool breezes blow — an ideal spot to take a break. The second shelter, further uphill, is located just beyond a cluster of fir trees. This is the only scenic shelter where, looking up, Pingtian Mountain seems close enough to touch, towering into the clouds above while plunging into a seemingly bottomless abyss below. The guardrails wind steeply upward, almost breathtakingly so. After climbing this extremely perilous "sky ladder," you’ll reach the alpine meadow. On the day of the race, the “China Fitness Famous Mountains Mountaineering Race and Forest Carnival Tourism Festival” was also held at Pingtian Mountain National Forest Park, inviting mountaineering enthusiasts to join in this forest feast and adding brilliance to the Pingtian Mountain stop of the China Fitness Famous Mountains Mountaineering Race.
This race continued to feature three categories: men’s/women’s speed climbing, family pairs, and mass fitness. From professionals to amateurs, and adults to children, all actively participated, promoting hiking and outdoor sports, showcasing the charm of China’s famous mountains, and advocating for ecological protection. Following the opening ceremony and the sound of the starting whistle, nearly a thousand athletes set off from the starting point at Qingniu Valley. The family pairs and mass fitness categories, with relatively lower difficulty, covered a 5.8 km course, finishing at the Tianping Camping Base. The speed climbing group continued onward, passing through highland tea plantations, Yanyu Pavilion, and other sites, ascending a full 8.1 km to the finish line at the alpine meadow. Notably, the entire course comprised 3,110 steps and burned approximately 1,580 calories, making it the most thrilling “step course” in the history of the 2016 season. One runner commented in an interview: “Competing on such a course is as tense and exciting as an adventure” — that’s the amazing appeal of this route. After 43 minutes and 15 seconds, Gao Yongning was the first to cross the finish line, winning the men’s speed climbing championship and also the overall annual points champion for the men’s category in this edition of the Famous Mountains Race.
In the women’s speed climbing category, Zhang Huiji claimed victory with an outstanding time of 57 minutes and 15 seconds, taking both the station and annual points titles. During the subsequent award ceremony, Lu Yiwen, Deputy Director of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Sports Bureau, and Li Wanchun, Deputy Secretary of the Guigang Municipal Party Committee, presented awards to the top three finishers in the men’s and women’s speed climbing categories. The top three in the annual overall points standings for both men’s and women’s speed climbing were awarded by Nong Rong, Mayor of Guigang Municipal People's Government, and Yan Jin’an, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Mountaineering Association.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the China Fitness Famous Mountains Mountaineering Race. The season has taken participants from the majestic Juyongguan Pass, the Buddha-lit Golden Summit Mountain, the spectacular Heavenly Lake of Tianshan in the Western Regions, the renowned Taoist mountain Hengshan (North Great Mountain), to the closing event at Pingtian Mountain. The race attracted over 100,000 participants, received coverage from more than 500 media outlets with nearly 1,000 published articles, and visited 15 primary schools, donating new desks, chalkboards, and sports equipment. The organizing committee has continuously improved race services, and supporting events have become increasingly diverse. Initiatives such as “Famous Mountains on the Tip of the Tongue,” “Climb Famous Mountains, Find Treasures,” and “One Famous Mountain, One Primary School” have sparked a mountaineering craze in this auspicious land of Pingtian Mountain. Embracing a new model of “sports + tourism,” the event has pioneered outdoor racing at scenic spots and greatly boosted both public fitness initiatives and brand image promotion for the scenic areas involved. This success would not have been possible without the longstanding support of the TUTU brand for the Famous Mountains Race.
It is understood that this race was a large-scale public mountaineering event jointly organized by the Chinese Mountaineering Association, the Chinese Scenic Area Association, the People's Government of Guigang City, the Tourism Development Committee of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the Forestry Department of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and the Sports Bureau of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; co-hosted by the Guigang Tourism Development Committee, the Guigang Forestry Bureau, the Guigang Sports Bureau, and the People's Government of Gangbei District, Guigang; co-organized by Guangxi Pingtian Mountain National Forest Park and the Guangxi Mountaineering Sports Association; and exclusively operated by Shizhi Sports.