September 12–September13, the “10th Anniversary Celebration of the Silk Road Spirit” was grandly held at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest. Thousands of EMBA trailblazers, including Vanke Chairman Wang Shi, Founder of Zhenghe Island Liu Donghua, Love Closet Founder and Uncle Kai Storyteller Founder Wang Kai, Ucommune Founder and Former Senior Vice President of Vanke Mao Daqing, Secretary-General of China Entrepreneur Club Cheng Hong, Olympic Champion Hou Bin, and others, gathered to celebrate the 10-year journey of the Silk Road Spirit. As a special tribute to the anniversary, the organizing committee centered the celebration around philanthropy, hosting a series of events including the “Champions Forum: Gobi Talk,” “10th Anniversary Awards Ceremony,” and the “First Silk Road Spirit Charity Sports Meet.” In addition, they partnered with Tencent Charity to launch the “Silk Road Spirit Charity Public Fundraising Platform” to support fundraising for nonprofit projects. These events aimed to unite the strength of EMBA trailblazers, leverage a broader platform, promote the ethos of the Silk Road Spirit, and spread positive energy across society.spread positive energy.
The “Silk Road Spirit” originated from the large-scale cultural exploration activity “Retracing the Silk Road” jointly planned by Xingzhi Exploration and CCTV in 2005–2006. Later, in May 2006, the first Gobi Challenge for MBA students from Chinese-speaking business schools was held. After a decade of development, the Gobi Challenge has become the most influential cultural brand and experiential event within the elite entrepreneurial community. Over the past ten years, founder Qu Xiangdong and his team have turned a small spark into a widespread movement—With the “Silk Road Spirit” as the core brand, numerous activities such as the “Gobi Challenge for Business Schools” (Gobi Race), “Gobi Coming-of-Age Ceremony,” “Blade Leadership Practice Camp,” “Entrepreneurship Gobi Expedition,” “China Expeditionary Force,” and “Business Avenue: Chinese Entrepreneurs’ Gobi Expedition” havegarnered widespread attention and strong resonance in society.
The “Silk Road Spirit” not onlyopened the door to outdoor sports for EMBA business elites, transforming their lifestyles, but also created a profound cultural brand encompassing challenge, practice, self-reflection, and philanthropy, along with impactful sports events. It has formed an energy field centered on business schools, uniting mainstream business elites and radiating positive social values outward.
Celebrating Ten Years Sharing Ten Years
Ten Trailblazers Take the Stage“Gobi Talk” Reflects on a Decade of Life Insights
On the afternoon of the 12th,at the Bird’s Nest Cultural Center, the 10th Anniversary Champions Forum “Gobi Talk” was grandly held. Cheng Hong, Secretary-General of the China Entrepreneur Club, served asthe special host of the Champions Forum“Gobi Talk.” She is also one of the first trailblazers to walk the Silk Road (known as a “Zero-Gobi” member). Ten years ago, she joined luminaries such as Wang Shi, Feng Lun, Zhang Weiying, Wang Xiaoya, Qi Daqing, Zhou Guoping, Liu Donghua, and Wang Wenbin in retracing the footsteps of Master Xuanzang from 1,300 years ago, seeking the roots of traditional Chinese spirit and pioneering the Silk Road. She opened emotionally: “Over these ten years, what makes me happiest is witnessing the growing number of trailblazers every year. This year, we’ve surpassed 20,000. We must thank Qu Xiangdong and his team for coining the original term ‘trailblazer’—I believe this is his proudest achievement.”
China EntrepreneurClub Secretary-General Cheng Hong
At the Champions Forum “Gobi Talk,” ten veteran and new trailblazers shared their feelings and reflections from the Gobi, as well as insights on entrepreneurship and life, and compelling stories from the past decade, all themed around “Ideal, Action, Persistence, and Transcendence.”
Founder and CEO of Jeku PowerChao Yang
Founder and CEO of Yidao AutoZhou HangAs a "thinker"The founder of Yidao Auto gained a renewed understanding of life through walking in the Gobi Desert. He said, “Don’t believe any more nonsense about ‘man can conquer nature’—instead, we should hold a heart full of reverence,” and “For us, exploring the infinite unknown is the very meaning of life.” His words bring us new inspiration.
Founder of Yidao Auto,CEOZhou Hang
Hou Bin, a three-time Paralympic high jump champion, lost his left leg in an accident during childhood. Yet he has walked the Gobi Desert five times without ever compromising. As an ambassador for Beijing’s Winter Olympics bid, he shared insights from the successful bid that offer inspiration to entrepreneurs. Grassroots runner Chen Yiming fell in love with running because of the Gobi and went on to realize his own “hero’s dream” through it. Miao Wen, after traversing the Gobi, withstood immense pressure to shut down a billion-yuan group enterprise and moved north to run a crowdfunding rice noodle shop, making a choice between his original aspirations and current reality. Zhang Xiaonan, an on-camera reporter for CCTV’s News Investigation, said, “Only by constantly experiencing can you hear your inner voice.” Such transformations are countless—they are all, without exception, brave souls in life. The Gobi Desert gives people the courage to change and inspires everyone to rediscover their original selves. This forum takes the “10th Anniversary of the Journey to the West” as an opportunity to convey the positive energy of perseverance over the past decade.
Ten Years of Companionship Gratitude for Ten Years
“Ten Years in the Gobi, Because of You”Awards CeremonyTouched the Entire Audience
Fromthe “First Gobi Journey” (Geyi)with6 participating schools, to the “Tenth Gobi Journey” (Geshi) with 43 schools, over the past ten years, the Journey to the Westhas grown from nothing—from a few dozen people crossing together to 2,000 people walking side by side. Today, nearly 20,000 EMBA entrepreneurs, inspired by the spirit of Xuanzang—“ideal, action, persistence, and transcendence”—have walked this path imbued with mission and heritage, taking pride in bearing the identity label of “Gufriend.”
Pioneers of the Journey to the West such as Feng Qiyong, Wang Shi, Feng Lun, Zhang Weiying, Wang Xiaoya, Qi Daqing, Zhou Guoping, Liu Donghua, Cheng Hong, Wang Wenbin, Zhang Mingzheng, and Chao Yang were awarded the “Journey to the West Pioneer Partnership Award.” Red Bull, hailed as “Your energy exceeds your imagination,” has been a strategic partner for ten years, sticking with the journey all along, and received the “Ten Years of Stormy Weather, Together Award.” Meanwhile, Red Bull, GAC Toyota, Toread, Dong-E-E-Jiao, Neusoft, Maya Travel, ASUS Computer, and Allianz Property, among many other sponsoring partners, were honored with the “Journey to the West Honorary Partnership Award.” In addition, 45 business schools, outdoor clubs, and numerous Gufriends who participated in the Gobi races received various team awards or organizational contribution awards. Olympic champion Hou Bin, Tan Yiliang—Chairman of Zhongda Real Estate and Founding Chairman of the Gufriends Foundation—and Yu Miao, the guardian of JiFeng Book Garden, among ten other Gufriends, were named the “Top Ten Most Inspiring Figures of the Gobi.” Numerous enterprises and institutions that have walked the Journey to the West, including China Resources Group, Lenovo Star, Alibaba, Huitianfu Fund, China Merchants Bank, and Innovation Works, also received the “Blade Meta-Leadership Award.”
“Withoutthe support of so many schools,without the participation of so many Gufriends,and withoutthe strong assistance of ourpartners, there would be no ten-year journey of the Journey to the West. We hope that in the next ten years,Wecan join hands tofurther promote and carry forwardthe spirit of Xuanzang,making thisworld a better,warmerand more uplifting place because of the presence of fellow "Gobi friends."” said Qu Xiangdong, founder of the Xuanzang Journey.。
Ten years of legacyTen years of dedication
“The First Xuanzang Journey Charity Sports Games”spreading great love across the Gobi
Over the pastten years,thespirit of Xuanzang has been passed on from generation to generation, along withthe enduring valuesof entrepreneurs’ reflections onentrepreneurshipand social responsibility, as well as their practices. Public welfareinitiatives initiated and establishedby fellow "Gobi friends"have become highly activeeventsin China’sphilanthropic sectorand areextremely dynamic.andindispensableforce.
To further amplify the philanthropic spirit and energy of entrepreneur runners, as another major event of the “10th Anniversary Celebration of the Silk Road Journey,” the Silk Road Journey, in collaboration with Tencent Charity, launched the “Silk Road Journey Public Welfare Fundraising Platform.” This platform supports charity projects initiated by runners to conduct public fundraising among the general public, enabling them to unleash their impact on a larger stage. To date, nine public welfare projects have been organized and launched on the “Silk Road Journey Public Fundraising Platform.”
On September 13, both veteran and new entrepreneur runners from around the world participated in the “First Silk Road Journey Charity Sports Games,” where the vibrant atmosphere brought the main venue of the World Championships, the Bird’s Nest National Stadium, to life once again. Here, what was displayed was not only the athletic spirit of the entrepreneur runners, but also their passion for public welfare and active engagement in charitable causes.
Olympic champion Hou Binfired the starting gunfor thesports games
The sports games were divided into two main parts: the “Perfect Ten Team Relay Race” and the “Decathlon Individual Elite Competition.”And philanthropy ran throughout the entire event.Representatives of various public welfare projects on the “Silk Road Journey Public Fundraising Platform” took turns pitching for donations on-site. Runners actively donated via mobile QR code scanning, and shared “Donate with Me” campaigns on WeChat Moments to rally friends. Additionally, the “1-Hour Rowing Charity Relay” initiated by the event organizer, the Silk Road Journey, received an enthusiastic response from participants. Project representatives recruited athletes to take part in a one-hour indoor rowing relay, with one yuan donated for every meter rowed — with no upper limit promised. This greatly motivated the entrepreneur runners; many demonstrated astonishing bursts of energy to raise more funds for the charitable initiatives.
In the afternoon, Wang Shi, Chairman of the Board of China Vanke Group and President of the Asian Rowing Federation, personally attended the charity sports event and announced the start of the China-UK Indoor Rowing Challenge. His appearance sent the crowd into an uproar and pushed the sports games to its climax. Ultimately, the Cambridge PhD team won the challenge championship, while the Business Dao Road team, led by entrepreneur runners, secured second place. Wang Shi not onlycoached the athletes, but also provided passionate commentary. He joined children with intellectual disabilities from charitable organizations for a measuring machine activity and took photos with them. Wang Shi commented that the 10th-anniversary event at the Bird’s Nest was imaginative. The runner community organized a 10-hour relay race.What was touching was how the memorial activities were integrated with charity, while also hosting competitions and fundraising for people with disabilities.Additionally, the Deep Dive training camp, jointly launched by Asian Rowing Federation President Wang Shi and Cambridge, held a “Rowing Machine Challenge,” where the winning entrepreneur runner received a 200,000 RMB Deep Dive training scholarship. During the event, Qu Xiangdong, founder of the Silk Road Journey, also presented Wang Shi with a trophy honoring him as a “Founding Partner of the Silk Road Journey,” in gratitude for his role a decade ago in co-founding the journey alongside numerous entrepreneurs and cultural scholars.
President of the Asian Rowing FederationWang Shiawarded the grand prize to thechampion of the Rowing Machine Challenge
Qu Xiangdongpresented Wang Shi with the “Founding Partner of the Silk Road Journey” trophyCommemorative Trophy for Founding Partners
This charitable sports event received support from numerous companies, offering a variety of prizes for public welfare projects and Go friends who fundraise through sports. As a brother brand of the Silk Road Journey, Extreme North & South providedArctic and Antarctic cruise tickets worth over 300,000 yuan, becoming the highlight of the event.
At the end of the charitable sports event,Qu Dongxiang, founder of the Silk Road Journey, announced that the total amount raised on Tencent’s public fundraising platform for the Silk Road Journey had exceeded 550,000 yuan. This was made possible thanks to the efforts of Go friends, the organizing committee of the Silk Road Journey, and the public welfare projects’ own fundraising initiatives. Congratulations to all the public welfare projects, and thank you to all those who contributed their love.
“‘Ideal, Action, Persistence, and Transcendence’are the core and source of inspiration of the Silk Road Journey spirit. Over the past ten years, entrepreneurs who have walked the Gobi have integrated the spirit of the Silk Road and the entrepreneurial spirit through action, giving rise to an even greater force. As the builder of this spiritual and cultural platform, we are moved by the recognition and companionship of the entrepreneurial Go friends, and gratified that our ten years of effort have brought positive values and energy to society. In the next ten years, this spirit will be better passed on, continuing to radiate positive energy to society,” said Qu Dongxiang.
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