The 2019 Nanjing Qinhuai City Wall Marathon and Qinhuai International Orienteering kicked off at SPORT XINMENXI, Qinhuai District, Nanjing at 7:30 AM on October 20. The event was broadcast live on Migu Run, Sina Sports, and New Broadcast. It was also recorded and broadcast on the Entertainment Channel of Nanjing TV Station. The event comprised the 17.5-kilometer Qinhuai City Wall Marathon, the Qinhuai International Orienteering, and a special Migu Run challenge online. A total of 3000 runners from 60 countries and regions, attended the event. They experienced Qinhuai's unique landscape and supported Nanjing's bid for the ancient city wall to join the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.
The "Most Beautiful" Course That Shows the Charm of Qinhuai
With the theme of "Catch the World's Attention with a More Enchanting Qinhuai", the 2019 Nanjing Qinhuai City Wall Marathon and Qinhuai International Orienteering has demonstrated the new charm of Nanjing as a technological innovation city with rich historical and cultural resources. By virtue of efficient execution, high-quality service, and unique charm, the first session of the event received the CAA's "bronze-medal event" and "most beautiful course" certifications in 2018. Still, a comprehensive upgrade has been made for this year's edition.
As the origin of the ancient capital Jinling and Nanjing culture, Qinhuai was historically "a prosperous, beautiful, and cultural place in Jinling and regions south of the Yangtze River". Nanjing City Wall is by far the largest and best preserved city wall in the world, thus earning itself the reputation of the number one city wall of the world. As the course runs through the towering, weathered city wall, the historic Qinhuai River region, and those unique streets and lanes in the southern part of Nanjing, runners got a chance to experience the profound historical and cultural features of Qinhuai District.
This year, the course of the Nanjing Qinhuai City Wall Marathon is slightly extended to 17.5 kilometers. Running on the city wall with a history of more than 650 years, runners can have a bird's eye view of the landscape of Qinhuai and the ancient city of Jinling. Qinhuai International Orienteering has expanded its course to nearly 30 scenic spots in Qinhuai District. Five characteristic routes with the themes of book tour, garden building, innovation park, charm of southern Nanjing, and fun of sports have been set up to connect the district's historic sites, cultural landmarks, and innovation parks famous at home and abroad.
They have demonstrated Qinhuai's profound cultural and historical heritage and vigorous creativity in urban development, and told the story of Qinhuai where ancient and modern elements co-exist harmoniously. To make the event even more interesting and to combine ancient culture with modern sports, stalls have been set up along the course to showcase Nanjing's intangible culture heritage crafts, such as woodblock printing techniques, miniature engraving, shadow play, knotting, palm fibre weaving and so on.
After a fierce competition, Letanto Stephen Kimbomet from The Republic of Kenya won the men's race in 00:54:22 and 殷晓雨 from Chinawon the women's race in 01:06:12.
A Concerted Effort for the World Heritage Bid
Nanjing City Wall is not only a unique landmark of Nanjing but also a witness to China's long history and changes of eras. The event let the runners better understand the history and culture of the ancient city wall and see for themselves Nanjing people's efforts to protect the city wall during the 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Hui Ruoqi, a well-known Chinese women's volleyball player, appeared at the scene to cheer the runners and show support for the world heritage bid.
The event was held in accordance with international standards and the concepts of putting runners first and protecting the environment. Comprehensive services of international standards have been provided for each contestant in terms of supply, medical treatment, security, etc.
On the competition day, a total of 150 police officers, 500 security personnel, 500 volunteers, and 47 medical personnel were mobilized to serve the event. Runners could taste local snacks of Nanjing, such as the "Eight Delicacies of Qinhuai", either along the c、ourse or at the finish point, which let them experience unique Qinhuai culture in senses of taste, sound, and sight. To hold a "green marathon" and improve people's environmental protection awareness, 15 plogging runners were recruited to pick up garbage along the course.
The Organizing Committee also cooperated with the Foreign Talent Association (FTA) to attract more international runners and multilingual volunteers in an effort to improve the event's international influence, publicize Nanjing City Wall worldwide, and help with the world heritage bid.
The 2019 Nanjing Qinhuai City Wall Marathon and Qinhuai International Orienteering was an innovation of sports culture, a grand ceremony for mobilizing the public to participate in cultural heritage site protection, and an opportunity to publicize Nanjing City Wall worldwide. With the "culture + sports + tourism" model and an international perspective, this event has enabled more people from home and abroad to experience Nanjing and Qinhuai at a close range and demonstrated to the world Nanjing City Wall's long history and cultural value.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. We will work together for Nanjing City Wall to be listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site. While using culture to improve the event's influence, we will build a sports brand with national characteristics to attract the attention of more people at home and abroad. We will let Nanjing become the focus of the world with a more enchanting Qinhuai. We will further promote the high-quality development of featured culture, tourism, and sports of Qinhuai District.