The 2014 fitness enthusiasts participating in this event were all recruited online
11 minutes 33 seconds to reach the top of Mufu Mountain, watch foreigners show off with hoop rolling, families climbing Mufu Mountain together... Yesterday, Mufu Mountain became a grand fitness party for Nanjing citizens. 2014 Chinese and foreign fitness enthusiasts gathered at Mufu Mountain in Xiaguan to carry forward the intangible cultural heritage of "Mufu Mountain Climbing" and jointly welcome the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games.
Nanjing University journalism student becomes mountain climbing champion
For this event, the organizers broke away from the traditional format of past mountain climbing festivals, adopting an interactive online and offline approach for registration and participation. The 2014 fitness enthusiasts recruited online pressed their handprints on a banner that read “Hand in Hand to Welcome the Youth Olympics,” expressing their anticipation for the Games. It is reported that the Organizing Committee of the Xiaguan Mufu Mountain Climbing Festival will present this meaningful banner to the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee.
The highlight of the climbing festival was, of course, the hike. At 9:30 am, as the starting gun fired, 300 climbers from various regions dashed off the starting line and charged toward the summit of Mufu Mountain. According to the organizers, Mufu Mountain stretches about 12 li from Shangyuan Gate in the west to Yanziji in the east, with an elevation of 204 meters. The starting point of this mountain climbing competition was set at the main entrance of the Zijin (Xiaguan) Technology Innovation Special Zone. The climbers passed through the special zone and then ascended along the mountain road, with the finish line at the “Mufu Mountain Greening Ten-Year Monument.” The total length of the course was about 4 kilometers. After intense competition, the top 10 finishers were determined.
On the 4-kilometer mountain trail, Chen Guoqiang, a senior journalism major from Nanjing University, reached the finish line in just 11 minutes and 33 seconds, becoming the first champion of the Mufu Mountain Climbing Festival. When asked, the young man said his form today wasn’t even at its best because he had just participated in another mountain climbing competition in Huangshan yesterday, where he took second place and expended quite a bit of energy. Achieving such a great result, of course, is inseparable from his regular training. Chen Guoqiang excels at running, swimming, and playing ball sports, and is also a member of a triathlon club. But what he loves most is mountain climbing — whenever he hears about any major climbing competitions in China, he will definitely participate if he has the time.
Citizens, please use designated hiking trails; off-trail paths are dangerous
“The conditions for hiking and fitness in Nanjing are quite good — there are purple mountain and Mufu Mountain in the urban area, and in the suburbs, there are Laoshan, Niushou Mountain, and Jiangjun Mountain,” he said. In his opinion, Purple Mountain has more steps, while the hiking path at Mufu Mountain is relatively flat, and both mountains offer very beautiful scenery.
More than ten members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team came to the scene yesterday as rescue volunteers from the Jiangsu Provincial Red Cross, responsible for communication support and rescue work during the climb. Team member Sun Tao told reporters that Mufu Mountain has become a popular destination for many citizens to hike and stay fit, but the terrain in the mountains is actually quite complex, and people often get lost. Some areas even have cliffs, which are very dangerous. Therefore, he also reminds citizens not to wander off onto unofficial trails when hiking.
Foreigners show off, learn to roll hoops
In addition to the exciting mountain climbing competition, the organizers of the Mufu Mountain Climbing Festival also set up a fun and entertaining fitness party for citizens at the Immortal Lake Square. There were traditional games like hoop rolling that evoked nostalgia for those born in the '60s and '70s; the dazzling and dynamic Five Rings activity; and the team-coordination-testing “Turning the Universe.” Reporters at the scene saw several “foreigners” showing great interest in the traditional game of hoop rolling — controlling the small hoop was not so easy, and after fumbling around for a while, they finally started to get the hang of it.
According to the head of the organizing committee: Yesterday’s “Gathering at Mufu” was just one of the nine major series of events of the Mufu Mountain Climbing Festival. In addition to the six events previously held online, netizens can also log in to Sina Weibo and follow “Xiaguan Weixun” to participate in three other activities: Online Mufu, Micro Mufu, and Image Mufu.