A race, a gathering, laughter all around, and a perfect harmony between humans and nature. On the morning of July 26, more than 1,000 professional cyclists from various cycling and outdoor clubs across the country, as well as expatriates in China, gathered at Liuye Lake in Changde, Hunan, kicking off the 2014 China Great Western Hunan Cycling League — Liuye Lake Station Race and the First Changde City (inaugural) Bicycle Culture and Tourism Festival. The event attracted over 100,000 public participants, making it the largest international cultural, sports, and tourism event in Changde in the past decade in terms of scale and influence.
Liuye Lake in Changde boasts the largest urban lake in China and a uniquely rich cultural heritage. It has previously hosted a series of major events such as the Asian Canoeing Championships, the China-U.S. Celebrity Water Skiing Competition, the National Short Track Car Rally, the Pan-Dongting Lake Dragon Boat Race, and the Golf Elite Invitational Tournament, and is widely regarded by all sectors of society as one of the best natural sports venues. Currently, Liuye Lake is striving to become a national-level tourist resort and a National 5A-level tourist attraction. Ten landmark tourism projects encircling Liuye Lake are being developed to high standards. Continuous improvements are being made to both land and water infrastructure. The 42-kilometer international marathon loop around the lake will be fully completed next year. In addition, projects such as the Zhan Tianhu East Bank Boardwalk, Dreamy Peach Blossom Island, the Northwest Hunan Tourist Distribution Center, and the Taolin Flower Sea Expo Garden will also be completed successively.
The competition featured six categories: Men’s Mountain Bike Mass Start, Women’s Mountain Bike Mass Start, Men’s Road Bike Open, Men’s Mountain Bike Elite, Local Men’s Mountain Bike, and Local Women’s Mountain Bike. Winners were determined by timing, with the top three in each category awarded. Champions in the Men’s Mountain Bike Mass Start, Women’s Mountain Bike Mass Start, and Men’s Road Bike Open categories came from Guangxi, Guangdong, and Zhejiang respectively, while the remaining category champions were won by three cyclists from Hunan.