City gets socioeconomic gains with sport games

Linhai, a county-level city with 14 towns and over 1.1 million residents under Taizhou in Zhejiang province, is boosting socioeconomic progress by making the most of its unique advantages.

Its mayor, Luo Yongbai, vowed to usher in a GDP growth rate of 6.5 percent this year through scientific and industrial innovation, bolstering industries and transport, in addition to elevating the services sector.

One move is to enrich cultural tourism through sport to stimulate the economy and aid people's well-being. Both public sports and people's well-being are among the central government's work arrangements for 2026.

Last year, the GDP of Linhai, which borders the East China Sea, hit 101.8 billion yuan ($15.04 billion), an annual increase of 5.1 percent.

Luo said the city hosted more than 200 sporting events such as the 10th Tsaigu Trail off-road race in 2025, and intends to further develop its sports industry.

One benchmark sporting event is the Tsaigu Mountain & Sea Journey, which includes the Tsaigu Kuocang trail race in Kuocang town to the west and the Langlang Beach event in Taozhu town to the east. Kuocang Mountain is the highest peak in southeastern Zhejiang.

"We plan to organize over 200 sporting events this year, and build and renovate 150 sports venues," Luo promised.

During the past decade, the Tsaigu event series has attracted over 30,000 participants from around the world.

For Wang Yubin, the champion of a 50-kilometer running race held as part of the 2026 Linhai Ultra-Trail in May, the exhilaration of climbing mountains at night and looking out to sea in the early morning during the race is unforgettable.

Wang dashed into the darkness at midnight, among 2,500 other runners who had gathered for three categories — 50 km and 35 km races, as well as the 7 km family fun-run.

Li Anna, the 50-km women's champion, recalled: "The scenery along the way is beautiful. The cheers of the villagers and volunteers' attentive services encouraged me all the way. This is not only a competition, but a journey of fulfillment."

Zhang Haixing, director of Taizhou sports development center, is glad that the Tsaigu events are empowering Linhai to enhance local livelihoods and are upgrading Taizhou's brand image to an ever increasing global audience.

Figures show that the Tsaigu Kuocang trail race helped rake in over 30 million yuan in consumption and brought in an indirect income of 160 million yuan to the locals, while the Langlang Beach event filled hotels and homestays in the core area last year.

"This has created a virtuous cycle of event-driven traffic boosting industrial revenue and local employment," he said.

Wang Lingbo, a volunteer who has participated in the Tsaigu race for seven consecutive years, said he has long regarded the event as his own and the runners as friends from afar.

"We want to serve as volunteers to protect the contestants and personally assist in the local events," he said.

He said the integration of local specialty agricultural products and traditional snacks into the competition has driven local villagers to start businesses and increase income, creating more jobs.

The Taozhu ancient town is a large beneficiary of this mountain-sea synergy tourism, as the flow of visitors and runners helped boost local dining, accommodation and specialty sales, he said.

This "event + rural" model can be promoted to various places in Taizhou, which can not only echo the national strategy of public fitness, but also benefit the grassroots, becoming a key move in bolstering the common prosperity of local people, Wang Lingbo said.

South of Taozhu is Duqiao town, where the villagers sell their special product — loquat fruit — to visitors coming for the grand event.

hanjingyan@chinadaily.com.cn