Some 3,000 participants had fun in a walking activity that kicked off in Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone -- also known as WHDZ -- on Nov 23, according to local media reports.
The walking activity, co-hosted by the WHDZ Management Committee and the sports bureau of Wuhan, highlighted a walking route along the Maying River.
The Maying is the largest natural river in the WHDZ. It is 25 kilometers long and its watershed encompasses an area of 152.46 square kilometers.
“The riverside scenery is charming, with European-style buildings on one side and lush trees on the other,” according to one participant, who plans to take part in the event for the second time.
Last year, the WHDZ invested 1.28 billion yuan ($182 million) to start the Maying River comprehensive improvement project.
Officials said that it carried out projects such as shoreline improvement, greenery expansion and aquatic ecological restoration, which significantly improved water quality of the Maying River.
In recent years, the sports industry has become a new economic growth point for the WHDZ.
Some 40 top brand sports events are held in WHDZ annually, giving birth to a number of sports IPs represented by the AEOLUS China Automobile and Motorcycle Sports Festival and the World Fly-in Expo.
These events, combined with special industries in the WHDZ -- including the automobile industry and general aviation industry -- are expected to promote the transformation and development of the WHDZ going forwards, officials said.
Earlier this year, the WHDZ was selected as a National Sports Industry Demonstration Base by the General Administration of Sport.
