In November, much of China has entered deep autumn, with many northern cities already shedding their leaves or even seeing snowfall. However, Luofu Mountain in Huizhou, Guangdong, located on the Tropic of Cancer, remains lush and vibrant, exuding a spring-like atmosphere.
On November 25, more than 2,400 hiking enthusiasts gathered at Luofu Mountain in Huizhou, Guangdong — known as a natural oxygen bar — marking the official opening of the 2018 “Boluo Rural Commercial Bank Cup” 5th Luofu Mountain Hiking Festival.
This event is a cross-sector extravaganza spanning the worlds of sports, fitness, and entertainment, and is also a widely participatory hiking and fitness activity.
According to reports, the 2018 “Boluo Rural Commercial Bank Cup” 5th Luofu Mountain Hiking Festival was organized by Guangdong Luofu Mountain Tourism Development Co., Ltd., hosted by Beijing Shizhi Shanshui Culture Communication Co., Ltd., and sponsored by Boluo Rural Commercial Bank. The Luofu Mountain Hiking Festival has been held for five consecutive years, attracting numerous outdoor enthusiasts from the Pearl River Delta region each time.
The starting point of the 2018 “Boluo Rural Commercial Bank Cup” 5th Luofu Mountain Hiking Festival was set at the new Luofu Mountain Visitor Service Center. The route passed through scenic spots such as Fairyland on Earth, Plum Mountain Dreams, White Lotus Lake, the Dongjiang Column Memorial Hall, Chongxu Ancient Temple, Cave Heaven Medicine Market, and Lion Peak. The total length of the race course was 7.4 kilometers. The event was divided into a Family Group and a Fitness Group. The Family Group awarded the top three places, while the Fitness Group awarded the top six male and female participants. There were also awards for Best Effort, Best Organization, and Best Style. In the end, Zheng Minchun from Dongguan, Guangdong, won first place in the Men’s Fitness Group with a time of 43 minutes and 15 seconds, while Fan Fengjuan from Shenzhen claimed first place in the Women’s Fitness Group with a time of 45 minutes and 17 seconds.
In recent years, the Luofu Mountain Scenic Area has leveraged the advantages of “tourism + sports,” offering a rich variety of activities and actively developing experiential outdoor sports tourism events such as hiking, slacklining, and cycling. The aim is to introduce the healthy concepts of public fitness and national sports into the tourism and leisure industry, allowing visitors to enjoy the unique appeal of sports tourism. These sports tourism products have not only brought increasing popularity and brand attention to Luofu Mountain but have also added new momentum to the development of high-quality tourism in the area and injected fresh vitality into the growth of all-for-one tourism.
The successful hosting of this event received strong support from sponsors including Baishui Mountain Mineral Water, Hakka Po Tofu Pudding, Pocari Sweat, Gexiantang Ginger Tea, Luofu Mountain National Medicine, Hepintang, Luofu No.1 Mineral Water, Kailas, and Montane Multi-functional Photography & Hiking Poles.
According to Wang Jiabin, Vice President of event operator Shizhi Sports: Luofu Mountain Scenic Area is a national AAAAA-level tourist attraction, covering an area of 260 square kilometers. It boasts 432 peaks of various sizes, 980 famous waterfalls and springs, 18 cave wonders, and 72 secluded rocky caves. The mountain features majestic and spectacular landscapes with enchanting natural scenery. Known as the “Number One Mountain in Lingnan,” Luofu Mountain has been regarded as an immortal mountain since the Qin and Han dynasties. Historian Sima Qian compared it to the “Yue Mountain” (Guangdong’s noble peak), making it one of China’s Top Ten Famous Mountains. It is also a renowned Taoist mountain in China, referred to as the Seventh Grotto-Heaven and the Thirty-Fourth Blessed Land in Taoism. Along with Xiqiao Mountain in Nanhai County, it is known as the “Two Qiaos of Southern Guangdong,” hence it is also called “Dongqiao Mountain” (East Grotto Mountain). It is recognized as a “National Key Scenic Spot” and a summer resort in China, and is hailed as the “Number One Mountain in Lingnan.” The Northern Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo once wrote the famous lines, “Below Luofu Mountain, spring reigns all year round; loquats and bayberries ripen in succession. I could eat three hundred lychees a day and never tire of being a man of Lingnan,” which helped make Luofu Mountain world-famous.