The recently published China Outdoor Sports Industry Development Report (2025–2026) shows that by the end of 2025, China's outdoor activity participants had surpassed 500 million. Outdoor spending is no longer limited to remote wilderness getaways. It has become woven into daily life — from commuting and casual leisure to short getaways — signaling that outdoor recreation has become an everyday pastime.
This shift is visible in the suburbs, where small-scale trail races are gathering steam and attracting a growing base of regular enthusiasts. One recent example: a trail race drawing more than 900 runners took place on a Sunday in Beijing's Shijingshan district. Staged as a companion event for domestic trail-running brand Outopia's new-store launch at Beijing APM on Wangfujing Street, the race was part of the brand's effort to let more consumers experience the joy of trail running in nature.
Among the competitors was Australian athlete George Knight racing the 20-kilometer-long course in his first-ever competition on Chinese soil.
"You only have to look at a map of China to see how many mountains and forests and all sorts of geography there are here to realize this could be a special place to go running," Knight said.
Before lacing up his shoes, he volunteered at trail events. Through volunteering, he came to understand what the sport really is.
"Discovering trail running was that point of convergence. I love hiking, I love nature, and I like moving my body," Knight explained.
He initially saw trail running simply as a more efficient way to hike, yet soon revealed a natural aptitude for the discipline. Most notably, he claimed victory in the 100km division at Australia's 2026 Buffalo Stampede in March.
As a Generation Z (those born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s) athlete, Knight is drawn to long-distance trail running for a personal reason:
"Running is so selfish, and especially racing… there're forty-eight hours that you're technically committed to doing such a thing. I'm out here purely for myself. There are problems in the world, but for this amount of time, I'm gonna be selfish and move forward."
Founded in 2021, Outopia seeks to lower entry barriers through its race series, bridge trail running with urban life, and turn its retail spaces into local community hubs — places for group run meetups, conversations about upcoming races, and a shared belief that "trail running unites."
