On land and on water, Guizhou's Xingyi a magnet for sport lovers

Standing at the start line of the 2023 Wanfenglin Half Marathon, members of the China Storyteller Partnerships Tour of Amazing Guizhou kicked off their exploration of the scenic and recreational Xingyi city of Qianxi'nan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture on Thursday.

The marathon, held on September 10 and in which more than 10,000 runners from home and abroad took part, was named after Wanfenglin scenic spot, a tour area featuring dense and bizarrely shaped karst peaks extending for hundreds of kilometers and along which runners could enjoy views of the city, villages, crops and canyons. The spot is ranked by Chinese National Geography as one of the six most beautiful peak forests in the country.

Nature rich, Wanfenglin boasts rich culture of the Bouyei ethnic group. It is home to the national intangible cultural heritage Bayin Zuochang, a Bouyei ethnic band in which members playing eight different instruments while singing. It has gone global as its Bouyei brocade design had made a splash at this year's China international fashion week in Beijing earlier in September.