From July 6 to 7, the Third National Camping Congress (Sunan Station, Gansu) will kick off at the Mati Temple Scenic Area in Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, Gansu. During the event, visitors will have up-close experiences with Buddhist grotto art, the scenery of the Qilian Mountains, colorful cultural landscapes, as well as the unique and rich ethnic customs of the Yugur, Tibetan, and Mongolian peoples. This information was revealed on the 3rd by the Publicity Department of the Sunan Yugur Autonomous County Committee.
Established in 1954, Sunan Yugur Autonomous County is China’s only and Gansu’s sole autonomous county for the Yugur people. It is located in the central part of the Hexi Corridor, at the northern foot of the Qilian Mountains. The county currently administers 6 townships, 2 towns, 9 state-owned forest and pasture farms, 101 administrative villages, and 3 urban communities, and is home to 11 ethnic groups including the Yugur, Han, Tibetan, and Mongolian, with a total population of 36,200.
Based on the characteristics of the 4A-level Mati Temple Scenic Area in Sunan, this camping congress will feature a variety of outdoor competition and game events such as mountain trekking, forest treasure hunts, mushroom picking, and pole-toppling contests. The activities are mainly designed for leisure and entertainment, with moderate difficulty but non-stop excitement to ensure visitors have a great time.
The event will also include a distinctive ethnic-style bonfire party featuring Yugur songs, dances, and music. Adhering to the principles of “health, leisure, greenness, and environmental protection,” the organizers aim to offer a rich and diverse program that fully showcases Sunan’s tourism resources.
Organizers also explained that hiking and camping are concrete expressions of people’s desire to return to nature and embrace an active, healthy, and leisurely lifestyle. They represent one of today’s most fashionable forms of tourism culture and physical fitness. Camping tourism is an emerging form of eco-tourism, and through it, participants can get close to nature and enjoy the pleasures of camping while engaging in travel, exercise, entertainment, and leisure.