From November 11 to 12, 16000 people together created the most challenging, innovative, and youthfully vibrant Hunan Hundred Kilometers Hiking.
CHANGSHA, China, Nov. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This is a report from Hunan Huasheng Culture & Sports Co., Ltd.:
On November 12, as night fell, the crowds at the Zhuzhou City Sports Center gradually dispersed, concluding the 2023 Hunan (Autumn) Hundred Kilometers Hiking successfully.
Held for the 26th time, it was the first to encounter cold wind and rain. Persisting for 16 years, the number of participants reached a record high for the autumn sessions of the Hundred Kilometers Hiking.
The slogan "Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan, Walk Together" has become a testament to the decade-long journey through wind and rain. And youth remains the invariable theme.
"The most challenging Hundred Kilometers Hiking ever"
Every edition of the Hunan Hundred Kilometers Hiking, from event planning, and route surveying, to participant recruitment, takes months to prepare. In this lengthy process, the most unpredictable factor is the weather.
Interestingly, of the 26 sessions of the Hunan Hundred Kilometers Hiking held so far, this is the first to experience such cold and rainy weather.
For an outdoor hiking event involving more than ten thousand participants, spanning three cities, and lasting 36 hours, such weather undoubtedly posed a great challenge. "The most challenging Hundred Kilometers Hiking ever" thus arrived unexpectedly.
Short sleeves were replaced with windbreakers, sun protection clothes with large umbrellas, and ice-cold cola with brown sugar ginger tea. The brave never back down.
On the morning of the 11th, near the Baxizhou supply point, couple Peng Bo and Zhang Sutao walked forward with an umbrella. "Although the weather is not very good, we wanted a different experience. We will encourage each other and reach the end together," said Zhang Sutao.
In the afternoon of the 12th, at the finish line at Zhuzhou Sports Center, among many young people, three people born in the 1970s stood out. Master Li said that they came from Anhui, seasoned veterans of outdoor hiking. This was their first participation in the Hunan Hundred Kilometers Hiking. Despite the weather, the scenery along the way was quite nice, and they plan to return to Hunan for next spring's Hundred Kilometers Hiking, "believing that the spring scenery will be even better!"
"Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan, Walk Together"
This is a unique route: walking through three cities along a river in two days. On the embankments, everyone strode forward against the wind, in a spirited and vigorous manner.
Since its beginning in 2007, the Hunan Hundred Kilometers Hiking has been witnessing the urban development and prosperity of Changsha, Zhuzhou, and Xiangtan from a unique perspective.
This autumn, the event's theme was straightforwardly set as "Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan, Walk Together."
Lei Guojie and Fu Yuhang, sophomores at Hunan University of Engineering, deeply relate to this. Early on the 11th, the two brothers set off from Xiangtan and arrived in Changsha to participate in the half-distance event of the Hunan Hundred Kilometers Hiking. "No matter what, we must persevere to the finish line," Lei Guojie said, noting that the faster they walk, the sooner they can return to school.
Being at the scene of the Hundred Kilometers Hiking, you will more vividly feel the delightful scenes brought about by the integration of Changsha, Zhuzhou, and Xiangtan:
Yanghu Football Park in Changsha, the starting point, located beside the Yanghu National Wetland Park, has gradually become an important place for sports and fitness for the people in Changsha's "Big Hexi" after years of nurturing. Looking southeast from Yanghu Football Park along Tanzhou Avenue, the western loop line of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan rail transit looks like a dragon, connecting the present and future of Changsha and Xiangtan.
As night falls, the lights of Xiangtan's Wanlou shine brightly and dazzlingly. As the midpoint of the event, Xiangtan's Wanlou, combining tradition with fashion, integrates popular elements such as Chinese-Chic interpretation, cultural and creative arts, trendy amusement, and innovative handcrafts, reviving the prosperity and the life atmosphere of the Xiangtan dock culture, rejuvenating old Xiangtan with new vitality.
Zhuzhou City Sports Center, the endpoint, witnessed a basketball feast "Factory Basketball Association" this summer involving Zhuzhou factories and mine enterprises, with companies from Xiangtan also invited to participate.
The integration of Changsha, Zhuzhou, and Xiangtan has permeated every corner. And all these have been joyfully witnessed by the Hunan Hundred Kilometers Hiking.
"Youth is About Doing What You Say"
The majority of participants in the Hunan Hundred Kilometers are college students. Whether it's clear skies or continuous rain, scorching heat or biting cold, the one thing that's never lacking on the hundred-kilometer journey is smiling faces and the youthful stories behind those smiles.
On the morning of the 12th, the first endurance walker to reach the finish line naturally attracted media attention. His name is Dai Hao, from the School of Engineering and Design at Hunan Normal University, and a member of the university's Star-picking Running Club. As a regular runner, he said, "This morning, I suddenly wanted to be first, so I was the first to check in and start. Everything after that just followed naturally."
Liu Silin, a sophomore at Hunan University of Information Science, is nicknamed "Liu Siling", or "Commander Liu" by his classmates due to the similar pronunciation. Earlier this year, he participated in the Hunan Hundred Kilometers Hiking and was deeply moved by the enthusiastic help of volunteers. "I also want to pass on this spirit of service." This autumn, his wish came true. As a volunteer, he was responsible for distributing materials to the walkers, stamping their cards, signing in, and providing guidance service. He was so busy that he often forgot to eat, and his clothes and shoes were wet through. "Having been wet in the rain before, I now want to hold an umbrella for others."
On the Xiangtan section of the Xiangjiang Embankment, two sisters against fragility, leaning on crutches and persevering through foot pain, continued their journey. They came from Yueyang, arriving in Changsha on Friday night, fully prepared for the event. "Every step hurts," said Luo Weiling, one of the girls. Despite the pain, she was determined to keep going, even if she had to crawl to the finish line. "We want to prove that we're not 'fragile college students'!"
