Photo shows guests firing the starting gun to launch the event.
Photo shows guests leading the walk.
China News Service, Ningbo, December 1 (Reporter trainee Lin Bo) Dressed in sportswear, wearing sun hats, and waving small red flags, on December 1, as the starting gun fired, thousands of walking enthusiasts from Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Taizhou, and Ninghai in the Yangtze River Delta region gathered in Ninghai County, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, to kick off the 2013 Global Walking Day event.
Li, an elderly walking enthusiast whose hair has long turned white but whose steps remain steady, said this was his third time participating in Global Walking Day. In his opinion, it’s a very good fitness activity. “The air is very fresh, and the best part is that it’s rare to have so many walking enthusiasts gather together.”
Ms. Lin, a resident of Ninghai who has lived there for many years but never walked along the Xu Xiake Avenue in front of her home, brought her 6-year-old child, put on sportswear, and joined the thousands-strong group for the walking event. “This is my first time participating in Global Walking Day. It allowed me to experience the joy of walking right at my doorstep for the first time.”
According to reports, the walking route started from Ximen Square in Ninghai, heading west to Xu Xiake Avenue, then to Nanguan Bridge, crossed Nanguan Bridge into the Feifengshan Park National Hiking and Fitness Trail, continued eastward along Binxi Road, crossed Fanjia Bridge, and ended back at Ximen Square, covering a total distance of about 5 kilometers.
The beautiful scenery and fresh air along the way were highly praised by the walking enthusiasts. “The air here is really great, and the fitness trail environment is incredibly beautiful,” Auntie Wang, a walking enthusiast from Hangzhou, complimented repeatedly.
As the country’s first model trail, the Ninghai National Hiking and Fitness Trail is a key stop for this walking event. It is reported that shortly after the trail was completed at the end of 2009, it attracted over 200,000 visitors in its first month, and within just a few years, it has drawn millions of hikers.
Xiao Min, member of the Party Group and Assistant Director of the General Administration of Sport of China, stated that the implementation of Global Walking Day is close to the public and is a great reflection of building a rich and vibrant national fitness activity system across urban and rural areas in China.
It is reported that the Global Walking Day event has been held continuously for three years prior to this, covering more than 20 major cities across the country, with a cumulative direct participation of over 700,000 walkers. The 2013 event has been held successively in 12 cities including Qingdao, Shanghai, Changchun, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Changsha, and Chongqing, with the Ninghai stop being the final one of 2013. (End)