China · Linxia (Yellow River Three Gorges) Super Six Mountain Outdoor Challenge.
On August 3–4, 2013, China’s most demanding mountain outdoor challenge will be held in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture. This edition features six distinctive outdoor events: “Crossing Liujiaxia,” “Yellow River Three Gorges Kayaking,” “Linxia Mountain Bike Cross-Country,” “Hezheng Archaeological Adventure,” “Songmingyan Downhill,” and “Lotus Mountain Climb.” It is currently China’s most challenging, longest single-day, and most arduous long-distance mountain outdoor competition.
Ingenious Design — China’s Toughest Outdoor Off-Road Challenge
The “China · Linxia (Yellow River Three Gorges) Super Six Mountain Outdoor Challenge” features a uniquely crafted course that integrates the region’s most stunning and distinctive cultural and natural landscapes throughout the race. Participants will not only endure a tough challenge but also enjoy Linxia’s breathtaking scenery and rich cultural heritage.
The total race distance is approximately 270 kilometers, all on mountainous outdoor terrain — currently the longest and most grueling mountain outdoor challenge course in China. Male athletes will traverse all of Linxia’s scenic spots over two days, completing an arduous journey that combines six outdoor disciplines: land, water, cross-country, rock climbing, mountain biking, and archaeological exploration.
The competition includes six signature events: Crossing Liujiaxia, Yellow River Three Gorges Kayaking, Linxia Mountain Bike Cross-Country, Hezheng Archaeological Adventure, Songmingyan Downhill, and Lotus Mountain Climb. The event is open to a wide range of participants, with men’s and mixed categories. Athletes complete multiple disciplines each day, with the fastest overall time winning.
With its unique format and unprecedented mountain outdoor competition, the “China · Linxia (Yellow River Three Gorges) Super Six Mountain Outdoor Challenge” will create a distinctive “Linxia Super Six” brand effect through its lasting impact.
Original Concept — Breaking Away from Traditional Race Models
Shi Shengtai, Deputy Director of the Gansu Provincial Sports Bureau, stated: The “China · Linxia (Yellow River Three Gorges) Super Six Mountain Outdoor Challenge,” held in August in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, capitalizes on the shift in China’s sports focus from competitive athletics to mass fitness, sports culture, and sports tourism experiences. Collaborating with national professional event organizers such as the Mountaineering Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China and Beijing Sport University, this is the first original branded event in northwest China that closely integrates local geography, history, and culture. Both the race route and participant format break away from many conventional off-road race models.
Xv Chuan, Party Committee Secretary of the Mountaineering Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, believes the “China · Linxia (Yellow River Three Gorges) Super Six Mountain Outdoor Challenge” stands out with its distinctive features, attracting top domestic outdoor sports enthusiasts through a series of highlights.
First, the “Linxia Super Six Challenge” spans a total of 270 kilometers from start to finish. In a single continuous effort, participants complete six outdoor disciplines: mountain biking, kayaking, mountaineering, crossing (with a floatation device), archaeological adventure (orienteering), and rope skills. The distance is among the longest of any current outdoor challenge in China, and completing six different outdoor activities over such a long distance is rare domestically.
Second, the “Linxia Super Six Challenge” is deeply integrated with the local geography and culture. Other events, such as the “Yellow River Crossing,” face challenges due to the river’s murky yellow waters, which are unsuitable for swimming or kayaking. The “Linxia Super Six Challenge” is held in Liujiaxia, leveraging the Yellow River’s unique water resources with meticulous design — a first in China. As the Yellow River water becomes clear upon reaching Liujiaxia, athletes can swim long distances and kayak dozens of kilometers in the pristine waters. This offers the world a new perspective on the Yellow River, significantly boosting the brand value of both the event and the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture.
Lastly, the event incorporates paleontological archaeological exploration at the “Liujiaxia Dinosaur National Geological Park,” combining ancient life research with outdoor sports — another innovative highlight that attracts sports enthusiasts.
Additionally, considering the future development of sports tourism in Linxia, the race route is designed to run north to south across the entire prefecture, integrating all local attractions into a unique tourism circuit. This creative approach to sports event planning is exclusive to Linxia. It will further promote Linxia’s culture, enrich residents’ sports and cultural lives, and continue the legacy of classic mountain outdoor sports. The inaugural “China · Linxia (Yellow River Three Gorges) Super Six Mountain Outdoor Challenge” pushes human limits with high participation, thrill, adventure, and deep cultural significance, making it a standout sports tourism experience.
Reaching New Heights — Pioneering a New Chapter in Sports Tourism
Zhang Jian, Director of the Social Sports Department at Beijing Sport University and one of the organizers of the “China · Linxia (Yellow River Three Gorges) Super Six Mountain Outdoor Challenge,” noted that Linxia was chosen for its exceptional geographical conditions and cultural heritage.
The so-called geographical advantages refer to Linxia’s location at the transition zone between the Loess Plateau and the Tibetan Plateau. This unique environment has created dramatic and rugged natural landscapes, including barren loess hills and mesmerizing danxia landforms. Notable geographic highlights in Linxia include the Liujiaxia Reservoir, home to unusually clear Yellow River water and one of the earliest reservoirs built in the northwest, the Yellow River flowing through the entire prefecture, 12-million-year-old fossils of shovel-tusked elephants and dinosaurs, and the Lotus Mountain, which shares the same elevation as Mount Tai and boasts both stunning scenery and steep terrain.
The cultural heritage refers to Linxia’s unique ethnic culture in the northwest as one of only two Hui autonomous prefectures in western China. Choosing Linxia supports the integration of minority ethnic groups in the west with national fitness and sports culture initiatives, enhancing the region’s visibility both domestically and internationally. This vision aligns with local leadership, who have offered strong support.
Currently, aside from competitive sports, other areas of sports in China are still in their early stages, and the sports tourism industry is on the cusp of rapid growth alongside the national fitness movement. Domestic tourism is gradually shifting from sightseeing to sports tourism experiences, with greater emphasis on participation.
We plan to combine sports with experiential tourism, leveraging Linxia’s position at the transition between the Loess Plateau and the Tibetan Plateau, as well as its dramatic natural landscapes shaped by the unique environment. We aim to develop distinctive sports tourism products for Linxia, build the “Linxia Super Six” mountain outdoor challenge into a renowned brand, and establish it as a key representation of Linxia. This will significantly enhance the prefecture’s national and international profile. It will also provide valuable inspiration for other cities with excellent outdoor resources in urban planning, promoting national fitness, and advancing cultural tourism.
Zhang Jian stated that the “China · Linxia (Yellow River Three Gorges) Super Six Mountain Outdoor Challenge” creates a premium sports tourism route by integrating six mountain outdoor disciplines — Crossing Liujiaxia, Yellow River Three Gorges Kayaking, Linxia Mountain Bike Cross-Country, Hezheng Archaeological Adventure, Songmingyan Downhill, and Lotus Mountain Climb — across the entire prefecture. From the outset, the “Linxia Super Six” brand was established to shape Linxia into an outdoor sports city with distinct regional charm, elevating its national and international recognition. This will also offer valuable insights for other cities with outstanding outdoor resources in urban planning, promoting national fitness, and advancing cultural tourism.
Charming Linxia — Perfecting Pristine Eco-Outdoor Sports Development
Kang Hui, Director of the Linxia Prefecture Sports Bureau, believes the creativity of this event is deeply intertwined with the prefecture’s geography, ethnicity, culture, and archaeology. The goal is to promote Linxia’s regional and cultural strengths through the competition, contributing to local sports culture and improving quality of life.
Linxia’s sports development will leverage the “Linxia Super Six” sports tourism, national fitness, and sports industry to boost local leisure and service sectors. The hope is for the “Linxia Super Six Challenge” to become a flagship event, attracting outdoor enthusiasts to experience its disciplines and establishing Linxia as a prime destination for sports tourism, thereby driving the growth of the local sports and tourism industries.
Using high-level competitions as a platform, the event seeks to further explore Linxia’s cultural essence. Guided by the principles of “government leadership, market operation, and social participation,” it combines mountain outdoor sports with national fitness, integrates sports with commercial, cultural, and tourism resources, and merges sports tourism planning with paleontological exploration. The concept emphasizes collaboration among municipalities, counties, districts, and society to deliver a highly engaging, thrilling, adventurous, and culturally rich sports tourism experience. The initiative uses the health industry to drive local economic growth, improve living standards, and contribute to building a harmonious, well-off society.
Eight Highlights
On August 3–4, 2013, China’s most demanding mountain outdoor challenge will be held in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture. This edition features six distinctive outdoor disciplines: “Crossing Liujiaxia,” “Yellow River Three Gorges Kayaking,” “Linxia Mountain Bike Cross-Country,” “Hezheng Archaeological Adventure,” “Songmingyan Downhill,” and “Lotus Mountain Climb.” It is currently China’s most challenging, most intense single-day, and most arduous long-distance mountain outdoor competition.
Highlight One: Ingenious Design — Crafted Based on Geographic Advantages and Historical Features
The “China Linxia (Yellow River Three Gorges) Super Six Mountain Outdoor Challenge” features a uniquely designed race itinerary that incorporates and highlights the most exquisite and distinctive cultural and natural landscapes of Linxia Prefecture throughout the event.
Highlight Two: Challenging Limits — China’s Toughest Outdoor Cross-Country Challenge
Participants must complete a 270-kilometer all-mountain outdoor course within two days, consisting of six uniquely designed events: crossing Liujiaxia, kayaking through the Yellow River Three Gorges, mountain biking across Linxia, archaeological exploration in Hezheng, downhill racing at Songmingyan, and climbing Lotus Mountain. This race currently stands as the longest and most grueling mountain outdoor challenge in China.
Highlight Three: Domestically Original — The First Original Mountain Outdoor Brand Event in Northwest China
Efforts aim to establish the “Linxia Super Six” as a promotional calling card for Linxia Prefecture. It is the first original brand event in Northwest China that closely integrates local geography, history, and culture, playing a positive role in enhancing the visibility of Linxia Prefecture.
Highlight Four: Whole-Region Scenic Area Concept — Creating the First Sports Experience Tourism Product in Northwest China
By organically integrating the six mountain outdoor sports events—Liujiaxia, Yellow River Three Gorges, Linxia Crossing, Hezheng Archaeological Exploration, Songmingyan Downhill, and Lotus Mountain Climbing—across the entire prefecture, a premium sports experience tourism route is created.
Highlight Five: Using the Event as a Vehicle — Promoting the Construction of Ethnic Culture in Linxia Prefecture
Showcasing the Hui ethnic culture of Linxia, the unique characteristics of the Hui people are perfectly blended with the “Linxia Super Six” brand event. This allows the resilient, persevering, and determined sports spirit culture of the “Linxia Super Six” to integrate into the local ethnic culture, forming a brand event with distinctive Hui cultural elements.
Highlight Six: Promoting Ecological Civilization and Effectively Boosting the Tertiary Industry
Through the development of the “Linxia Super Six” sports experience tourism, national fitness, and the sports industry, the event promotes the construction of local tertiary industries such as leisure and service sectors. By using the health industry to drive local economic growth, improve living standards, and realize the Chinese Dream of building a moderately prosperous and harmonious society for the people of Linxia.
Highlight Seven: Keeping Pace with the Times — Vigorously Promoting National Fitness Activities
Leaders in Linxia Prefecture have seized the timely opportunity as China’s sports focus shifts from competitive sports to national fitness, sports culture, and sports experience tourism. They have developed a distinctive sports experience tourism route in Linxia Prefecture, effectively promoting the development of national fitness activities.
Highlight Eight: Extending the Sports Industry Chain — Creating a New Calling Card for Linxia
By leveraging the “Linxia Super Six Challenge” brand event, the prefecture integrates its geography, ethnic culture, history, and archaeology, driving the development of Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture’s sports and tourism industries. It attracts numerous outdoor sports enthusiasts to experience the “Linxia Super Six Challenge” brand events, promotes the integrated branding of local well-known enterprises with the event, and fosters the development of national fitness and the sports industry.