2023 Chinese Leisure Sports Challenge launches in Guangzhou's Huangpu District

The "Green Mountains and Clear Rivers" Chinese Leisure Sports Challenge kicked off on May 3rd in Guangzhou"s Huangpu District and the Pinggang River Water Sports Carnival in the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City. Over 500 athletes from more than 30 provinces and cities across China came to compete and experience the ecological beauty of Huangpu.

At 9:00 am, the men"s paddleboard leisure race began. As the referee gives the signal, dozens of paddleboards hit the water, with athletes standing on long boards, paddling with their hands, surfing, racing, and striving to be the first. This is the start of a charming summer on the beautiful Pinggang River.

The opening day"s competitions included a 1-kilometer paddleboard leisure race, a 7-kilometer rural leisure run, and leisure biathlon (1-kilometer paddleboard + 7-kilometer run), with a total prize pool of 200,000 yuan divided among the 12 different categories.

For the biathlon, the competition started with the paddleboard race before transitioning to the running course. The starting point was at the Pinggang River, which stretches 7.352 kilometers and passes through four villages. The river is surrounded by greenery and fish, resembling a beautiful green ribbon. This event will also link the Fenghuang River (Phoenix River), Jiulong Lake (Nine Dragons Lake), and other waters in the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, covering 190.2 hectares and a total length of about 20 kilometers. The running course overlaps with part of the Longhu Ancient Post Road.

In addition to enjoying the scenic beauty of "mountains and rivers in the city and the city in mountains and rivers" along the eight-kilometer course, athletes can also cross the ancient post road dating back to 2000 years ago, take photos at the demonstration zone of rural revitalization and the Jingxia Village at the Knowledge City, participate in themed activities such as trend markets, tent camping, and China-Singapore speciality cuisine, and experience water- and land-based combined leisure sports.

He Bole from Zhuhai City won the men"s paddle board leisure race and was the youngest participant in the category at 17 years old. "It was very exciting to participate in this race. The scenery here is beautiful, and the water is vast. If I have the chance, I will come back to compete again," he said.

The exciting competition attracted many spectators. Huang, a resident of Zhongshan City, drove with his family to watch the race. " Since it happened to be the May Day holiday, my family and I came here to watch when we heard about the watersports event. After witnessing the intense competition, we also tried stand-up paddleboarding, which was very fun and easy to learn," he told reporters, adding that he loved the beautiful scenery and good water quality of the Knowledge City.

Mr. Hou, a Beijing participant who just finished the parent-child leisure race with his child, happily exclaimed, "This is my first time here, and I have fallen in love with this beautiful little city."

In recent years, the Knowledge City has adhered to the development principles of "integrating industry with the city and prioritizing ecological protection", promoting the integrated development of "sports, tourism, culture, and consumption", and continuously improving and optimizing the business environment and industrial environment. In the Knowledge City, the 3-kilometer lakeside greenway of Fenghuang Lake has formed a beautiful waterfront scenery line, creating a high-quality waterfront space for Huangpu District.

燃爆！2023“绿水青山”中国休闲运动挑战赛在广州黄埔开幕

5月3日，2023年“绿水青山”中国休闲运动挑战赛（广州黄埔站）暨平岗河水上运动嘉年华在中新广州知识城（以下简称“知识城”）平岗河畔开幕，来自全国30多个省市的500多名选手展开激烈角逐，尽情体验广州黄埔的生态之美。

上午9时，桨板休闲赛男子组比赛正式拉开帷幕。随着裁判的一声令下，数十张桨板齐齐下河，选手们脚踩长板，手摇划桨，冲浪、竞速、争先……在秀美的平岗河上开启魅力之夏。

开幕当天举行的竞赛项目包括1公里桨板休闲赛、7公里乡村休闲跑以及休闲两项赛（1公里桨板+7公里跑步），共分12个组别，总奖金达20万元。

在线路设置上，两项赛按先桨板再路跑的顺序进行比赛。比赛的起始点平岗河，全长7.352公里，河清草绿、鱼翔浅底，像一条碧绿的丝带环绕穿过4条村庄。本次赛事活动将联动190.2公顷以及总长度约20公里的凤凰河、九龙湖等知识城水系水域。路跑赛道则与龙湖古驿道部分线路重叠。

选手们在8公里的线路中，除了能欣赏“山水在城中，城在山水中”的山水画卷，还能穿越千年秦汉古驿道，打卡乡村振兴特色精品示范、知识城“后花园”迳下村、草帽广场等景区，参加潮流集市、帐篷露营、中新特色美食等主题活动，体验独特的水陆双栖休闲运动。

来自珠海市的何博乐拿到桨板休闲赛男子组冠军，17岁的他是这个组别年纪最小的参赛者。他表示，“这次划得很过瘾，这里风景很好，水域辽阔，下次有机会我还要来参加。”

精彩的比赛吸引了众多观众。市民黄先生与家人特地驱车从中山前来观赛。“恰好五一放假，知道有水上运动会我们一家就过来了，看完激烈的比赛，我们还体验了桨板运动，非常好玩，而且容易上手。”他告诉记者，知识城风景很美，水质特别好，一家大小都喜欢这里。

刚带着孩子跑完亲子组休闲赛的北京选手侯先生开心地说，“我是第一次来这里，已经爱上了这座美丽的小城。”

近年来，知识城以“产城融合、生态优先”为原则锚定生态型城市格局的发展理念，推动“体育+旅游+文化+消费”融合发展，不断完善优化营商环境和产业环境。在知识城，凤凰湖3公里的环湖碧道，已形成一道亮丽的滨水风景线，为黄埔区打造了高品质的滨水空间。(更多新闻资讯，请关注羊城派 pai.ycwb.com)

文、图｜羊城晚报全媒体记者 徐振天

通讯员｜刘丽春 黄蓉芳 范敏玲

翻译｜刘佳慧

来源 | 羊城晚报•羊城派

责编 | 王楠