On April 6, the 2024 Yueyang Marathon and the National Half Marathon Championships (Third Stop) started. (Photo/Xu Dianbo and Zhou Wenchao)

The 2024 "Yueyanglou Cup" Yueyang Marathon and the National Half Marathon Championships (Third Stop) kicked off at 7:30 on April 6 at an exhibition hall demonstrating the initiative of "protecting the Yangtze River" in Junshan District. Over 12,800 contestants from 34 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and special administrative regions gathered on the banks of the Yangtze River for this event advocating the protection of the Yangtze River.

The Yueyang Marathon has been certified as an A1 marathon event by the Chinese Athletics Association for three consecutive sessions. This year, Yueyang won the bid to host the 2024 National Half Marathon Championships (Third Stop) and the Guarding the Yangtze River Series (First Stop). The "three-in-one race" made the total prize money reach 520,000 yuan, with the scale of event, the number of participants, and the total amount of prize money becoming the highest ever.

The organizing committee invited marathon race groups from Yichang, Wuhan, Nanjing, Jiujiang, Chongqing, and other cities along the Yangtze River to participate in the event. They jointly proposed to protect the Yangtze River, and will carry out race publicity city by city to promote and publicize the initiative. 

As the host of the event, Junshan District of Yueyang City has always been keeping in mind President Xi Jinping's requirements on protecting the Yangtze River. It has advanced "agriculture, culture, tourism, and sports" integration and built an ecological civilization practice base in the new era. The "most beautiful river and lake bank" marathon course, linking the Yangtze River and the Dongting Lake, was established by Junshan District. It has been certified by the Chinese Athletic Association as a "five-star fitness trail". The event adhered to the idea of green development, taking the unique natural environment as the stage, Junshan District Party Secretary Lei Xin said, adding that efforts will be made to continue to polish the "green, intelligent, beautiful" brand of "Yueyang Marathon".