The 2023 Hunan Sports Tourism Festival will be held in Hongjiang City in the second half of this year. As one of the most anticipated marathon events this year, it will take place in Anjiang Town, the birthplace of the world's rice civilization and hybrid rice.

The event will tap into cultural resources of the workplace of late Academician Yuan Longping, the "father of hybrid rice", and bring Anjiang's rice culture back to life. The race route will pass through landmarks such as Anjiang Agricultural School, Qianyang No.1 Middle School, the former site of Qianyang Administrative Office, and Anjiang High-Speed Rail Station. It aims to tell the stories of farming culture well and create a new calling card for integration of farming culture, sports, and tourism in Hunan.

Since its inception in 2017, the Hunan Sports Tourism Festival, sponsored by the Hunan Provincial Sports Bureau, has been held for several sessions and its influence has been growing steadily. It has become a prominent sports tourism brand in Hunan Province. This session will focus on unique development features of Hongjiang City and leverage the regional resources of national key protected cultural relic units including the Gaomiao Ruins Site, Qianyang Ancient Town, and Anjiang Agricultural School Memorial Park.

A series of sports and tourism activities will be held, such as a half marathon, Hanfu Culture Week at Qianyang Ancient Town, Academic Symposium on Gaomiao Ruins Site, Xuefeng Mountain Ice and Snow Festival, Hongjiang Autumn Rural Tourism Festival, and the first "Golden Seed" Cup Basketball Tournament. The festival will also launch high-quality travel routes featuring Qianyang Ancient Town and Yuanjiang River and road trips to Anjiang Agricultural School, the birthplace of hybrid rice.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: Voice of Hunan