Relay race to be held to greet Asian Games

Runners pass by a billboard for the 19th Asian Game in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Ningbo Daily]

Ningbo, a co-host of the 19th Asian Games, will hold a relay race in April to the welcome the global sporting showpiece which will take place this September.

The race will start from the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center, pass by a number of landmarks including Ningbo Zhoushan Port, Tianyi Pavilion and Sanjiangkou, before ending at the Xiangshan Asian Games Sailing Center.

The event will comprise 100 sections involving 100 residential communities and villages across the city.

The organizing committee expects more than 10,000 people, including over 1,000 expats living in the city as well as luminaries like renowned marathoner Li Zicheng and national model worker Qian Haijun, to take part in the race.

Ningbo was awarded the commemorative "City of Olympic Champions" trophy by the Chinese Olympic Committee in September 2022 in recognition of its outstanding contributions to the nation's sporting development.

Athletes from Ningbo returned home from the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021 with five gold medals. A month later, the city amassed a haul of 20 gold, 11 silver and 11 bronze medals at China's 14th National Games, the fourth highest number of medals among all cities in China.

This September, its coastal county of Xiangshan will host the sailing and beach volleyball competitions of the Asian Games.