2021 Dongpo Half Marathon held in Meishan, Sichuan

The 2021 Dongpo Half Marathon is held in Meishan, Sichuan province on April 24, drawing more than 15,000 runners from 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The 2021 Dongpo Half Marathon was held in Meishan, Sichuan province on April 24.

Sponsored by the China Athletics Association, the Sichuan Provincial Sports Bureau and the Meishan city government, the event included a half marathon, a 10-kilometer race and a 5-km race. It was also part of the National Half Marathon Championships.

More than 15,000 runners from 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across the country participated in the races.

The 2021 Dongpo Half Marathon is held in Meishan, Sichuan province on April 24, drawing more than 15,000 runners from 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Among the participants were Olympic gymnastics champion Feng Zhe, Meishan local and hockey world champion Zhang Yimeng and runners from 40 leading universities, including Tsinghua University and Fudan University. Among all the runners, the oldest was 83 years old and the youngest was only 1 year old.

Runner Wang Tao won the men's half marathon with a time of 1 hour, 7 minutes and 16 seconds, while Liu Meng won the women's with a time of 1 hour, 18 minutes and 41 seconds.

The annual Dongpo Half Marathon, launched in 2018, has gradually become an important chance for Meishan to showcase its cultural heritage, livable environment and open and inclusive urban atmosphere.

The 2021 Dongpo Half Marathon is held in Meishan, Sichuan province on April 24, drawing more than 15,000 runners from 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Meishan is the hometown of Su Dongpo, a great poet of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). To honor this heritage, the race also served as a cultural event. Cultural elements related to Su Dongpo were integrated into the race's promotion, medals and clothing, and into the race route itself.

During the event, a series of other activities were held to enrich the experience of participants, such as fitness activities, artistic performances and more.

Organizers of the event also launched several tourism routes to encourage runners and participants to visit Meishan's popular tourist attractions. A food exhibition called "Flavor in Meishan" had 300 kinds of specialty foods on sale.