Walkathon raises funds for students

The China Youth Development Foundation has raised more than 620,000 yuan ($97,700) to purchase books for students in poverty-stricken areas with a walkathon in Beijing.

The event, organized by the China Youth Development Foundation and The Beijing News, was divided into two walking groups – 40k and 25k - at the picturesque Yudu Mountain in Yanqing county, Beijing.

Both walkathons covered varied terrain: from smooth pavement by a lake, to a narrow path hidden in trees, from a rugged mountain trail, to a newly built highway, and winding mountain road.

Nearly 900 people attended the event, and were given a maximum time budget of 8 hours.  The youngest participant, Xie Pingyun, was 11 and though he failed to finish the course, his eagerness was encouraging to many others.

The fund will be used to sponsor the Happy Reading of Hope Project in Haiyuan county, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Baoshan, Yunnan province, and Yanqing county, Beijing. 

The China Youth Development Foundation launched the project mainly to provide books, train teachers of reading class, and organize reading activities in elementary schools in central and western parts of China.

Author of fairy tales Zheng Yuanjie, actor Tong Dawei, and Chairman of Beijing Zhongkun Investment Group Huang Nubo led the walk for the first two kilometers.

"Reading extracurricular books can help keep the imagination of children active and make them more innovative when they grow up," said Zheng at the launch ceremony.

"Walking can be painful, but we can do good to others and also exercise ourselves by participating," said Huang Nubo.