On October 10,the press conference for the "Beautiful China" Four Seasons Guizhou 2018 Guiyang・Qingzhen Half Marathon was successfully held.Asa marathon series under the "Beautiful China" brand,the "Beautiful China" Four Seasons Guizhou 2018 Guiyang・Qingzhen Half Marathonwill be heldthis28thinQingzhen.
The "Beautiful China" Marathon Series is one of the "China-themed" events developed by the Athletics Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China. With strong support from the Chinese Athletics Association,it aims to build the "Beautiful China" Marathon Series into a star marathon event with significant sports industry value in China by focusing on multiple aspects such as event branding, market development, professionalism, participant experience, and media outreach.The "Beautiful China" Marathon Series is set to become a flagship marathon series in China with notable value to the sports industry.
The 2018 Guiyang・Qingzhen Half Marathonis jointly organized by the Chinese Athletics Association, the Guiyang Municipal Sports Bureau, and the People's Government of Qingzhen City. Its goal is to integrate Guizhou’s cultural tourism projects to deliver an experience that allows runners to "enjoy Guizhou, explore Guizhou, have fun in Guizhou, savor Guizhou, and feel nostalgia for Guizhou," thereby establishing Guizhou’s"industrialization of tourism projects." At the same time, leveraging the event as an opportunity, it seeks to showcase Qingzhen’s excellent ecological environment, rich ethnic tourism culture, and distinctive culinary elements, to promote the development of Qingzhen’s eco-tourism, tourism economy, and poverty alleviation initiatives, and to enhance Qingzhen’s visibility and reputation both within the province and across the nation.
A relevant official from Qingzhen City stated that this event will bea strong practice of the integrated development model of "culture + sports + tourism." Through the race, advantageous resources such as natural scenery, cultural assets, development achievements, ecological construction, and nostalgic culture will be transformed into tourism resources. By providing a full industrial chain service under the "culture + sports + tourism" model, it aims to respond to the upgrade in consumer demand, advocate for nationwide fitness, create a high-end sports event IP, activate Qingzhen’s comprehensive tourism resources, promote the transformation and upgrading of Qingzhen’s tourism services, assist in building a world-renowned tourism city and an international mountain tourism destination, and strive to write a new chapter in the development of a "green and beautiful Qingzhen" in the new era.
The title sponsor of this event, Four Seasons Guizhou, is one of the key all-for-one tourism projects developed in Qingzhen. The project integrates a water park, hot springs, a ski resort, a golf course, and commercial streets, and is set to become Qingzhen’s most capable tourism complex in terms of reception capacity, supporting services, recreational facilities, unique features, and coverage area.
According to reports,the 2018 Guiyang・Qingzhen Half Marathonwill startat 8:00 a.m. on October 28. The full distance is 21.0975 kilometers, featuring a half marathon and a fun run. The half marathon will start on Qingzhou Avenue (Four Seasons Guizhou), passing through Vocational Education Road, Binhu Road, Yunling Middle Road, Yunzhan Road, Nostalgia Boulevard (turnaround), Longfeng Avenue, Longfeng Bridge, General Stone Road, Vocational Education Road (turnaround), Jinqing Road (turnaround), and Baima Avenue, with the finish line back at Qingzhou Avenue (Four Seasons Guizhou). The fun run covers a total distance of 4 kilometers, starting from Qingzhou Avenue (Four Seasons Guizhou), passing through Vocational Education Road and Binhu Road, and finishing at Baihua Road (Time Guizhou).
Currently, the preparations for the event are proceeding in an orderly manner. A total of5,000 runners are expected to be recruited, including a maximum of 2,000 participants aged 16 and above for the half marathon, and up to 3,000 participants aged 10 and above for the fun run. Participants may register for only one of the two events, and registration will close once the quota is filled. Online registration started on September 29 and will remain open until 18:00 on October 15, 2018, or until the quota for an individual event is reached.