On February 9, the first Red Bull Whitewater Freestyle Kayaking Competition held its opening day of races on the Nujiang River, which runs alongside the Ancient Tea Horse Road. In the morning’s waterfall descent event, contestant No. 11 Li Xiaoqing, nicknamed "Zhuangzhuang," claimed victory in the waterfall descent race with a spectacular maneuver of navigating rapids and climbing onto rocks. In the afternoon’s preliminary round of the downstream speed race, four athletes—Wu Changlin, Li Jinsong, Liu Wenfeng, and Yang Fan—advanced to the finals scheduled for February 10. Later, Yang Fan, Li Jinsong, and Zhang Bing performed a preview round of the freestyle cave race.
At the award ceremony, two young girls dressed in traditional Lisu ethnic costumes caught the attention of world champion Dane Jackson (right)
After the waterfall descent race, the athletes headed to Bafan Cave to rehearse freestyle performances and compete in the preliminary round of the downstream speed race. On February 10, they will take part in the most important events of the competition: the freestyle cave race and the downstream speed race.