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MEISHAN, China, April 26, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

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

24. More than 15,000 runners from 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous

regions across the country participated in the races.

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.

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.

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.

Source: The Meishan city government

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   Caption: The 2021 Meishan Dongpo Half Marathon is held in Meishan, Sichuan province on

April 24, drawing more than 15,000 runners from across China.