Sports and cultural events to attract attention to Suzhou Creek
2012 London Olympics sailing champion Xu Lijia (left) talks about Suzhou Creek at a press briefing over the weekend.
A variety of sports competitions and cultural activities will be held on or along Shanghai's Suzhou Creek through the end of 2023 to boost the city's "riverside economy."
More than 1,000 sports, cultural and tourist events were announced at the weekend to be held along the 21-kilometer riverside section in Putuo District.
The events would highlight the comfortable living environment and vitality of Shanghai, while continuing to drive the recovery of the city's culture and tourism sectors, the Putuo Culture and Tourism Bureau announced on Saturday.
The creek would become the "golden waterway" for sports competition by gathering the world's top sports events and attracting global attention, the bureau said at a press briefing at the Changfeng area along the creek.
As a highlight, the inaugural Shanghai Suzhou Creek Half Marathon would fire its starting pistol on April 22. Some 4,000 runners would begin their 21-kilometer journey from the landmark structure Tian An 1000 Trees and run past the Shanghai Mint Museum, Global Harbor and Changfeng Park before reaching the finish line at the new Suzhou Creek Half Marathon Park.
Children represent a range of sports activities during a press briefing about the sports competitions to be held on or along Suzhou Creek later this year.
The 2023 Shanghai Elite 10K Race, which has become one of the world's top elite races, will be held on October 15. The route would cover some of the signature landmarks in Putuo, including Changfeng Park and the half marathon park.
On the water, an urban elite regatta would be held in Putuo on April 29 to gather amateur teams from local enterprises, clubs and universities. It would become another key regatta along the creek, in addition to the Head of the Shanghai River Regatta at the mouth of the creek.
Dozens of dragon boat teams will also race each other on the creek during Shanghai's annual dragon boat competition between June 17 and 18, ahead of this year's Dragon Boat Festival which falls on June 22.
Other competitions, including paddle boarding, frisbee, rugby and drone flying, would invite amateur athletes to compete on and along the creek through December.
The 2023 Half Marathon Suzhou Creek Culture and Art Festival would be held from September until October, featuring more than 1,000 activities at cultural venues, shopping complexes, sightseeing spots and communities along the creek in Putuo.
A bazaar featuring China's heritage skills has opened on the riverside of Suzhou Creek.
