At 8:45 a.m. on May 18, with the sound of a crisp and loud whistle, the 2024 Jinji Lake-Dushu Lake Water Sports Cross-Country Race officially kicked off at the Jinji Lake Moonlight Wharf in Suzhou Industrial Park, unveiling the prelude to the first Jinji Lake-Dushu Lake Water Sports Competition.
Under the guidance of the Suzhou Municipal Sports Bureau, with the strong assistance of the Suzhou Industrial Park Bureau of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Management Committee of Jinji Lake Business District, and the Management Committee of Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation Zone, the event was hosted by Jinji Lake Scenic Area Management Center and Suzhou New Era Culture, Sports and Exhibition Group Co., Ltd., undertaken by Suzhou Wenbo Business Tourism Development Co., Ltd., supported by Suzhou Canoe Paddleboard Association and Beijing Kusai Tongce Sports Culture Communication Co., Ltd., and implemented by Suzhou Maizi Culture Media Co., Ltd.
Wu Weizhong, Deputy Director of Suzhou Sports Bureau, He Wen, Deputy Director of the Propaganda and United Front Work Department of Suzhou Industrial Park, Zhu Yunlei, Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of Jinji Lake Business District, Chen Li, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation Zone, Chen Jufang, former Deputy Director of the Management Committee of Jinji Lake Business District, Ji Xusong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Suzhou New Era Cultural and Sports Exhibition Group Co., Ltd., Han Bing, President of Suzhou Canoe and Paddleboard Association, and other leading guests attended the opening ceremony. Zha Weicong, Vice President of Suzhou New Era Culture, Sports Convention and Exhibition Group Co., Ltd. and General Manager of Suzhou Wenbo Business Tourism Development Co., Ltd., delivered a speech for the competition.
As one of the series of activities of the "5.19" China Tourism Day in Jinji Lake Scenic Area, this competition is the first time to connect the two iconic waters of Jinji Lake and Dushu Lake in the form of water events, and it is the first cross-country event held in the waters of Shuanghu Lake in China.
The competition set up a 15km kayak, 8km paddleboard, and 1km speed race for the dragon board team, which greatly tested the physical strength and endurance of the participants. The event attracted nearly 300 kayakers and paddle boarders from 13 cities in Jiangsu Province, international friend teams from Italy, Singapore, and university teams at home and abroad to participate in the competition. The competition has a rich form, strong on-site ornamentation and high participation of the masses, which has played a positive role in further popularizing water sports and creating an urban water sports atmosphere.
The competition also staged fashionable and dynamic trapeze artists, jet skis and other water performances, as well as performances by artists from Venice, Italy. Moonlight Pier Square also set up water sports equipment display, water sports on-site experience and other activities. The vivid scene of water, land and air interaction, and the combination of movement and stillness attracted many citizens and friends to stop and take pictures and applaud.
In the end, Lv Weiwu won the first place in the 15KM self-brought boat men's group event, Chen Zhengyu won the first place in the 8KM self-brought board men's group event, Ji Lingling won the first place in the 8KM self-brought board women's group, Zheng Meiyue won the first place in the 15KM self-brought boat women's group, Chen Jiawen won the first place in the women's singles of the unified boat in the college group, Yu Shuyang won the first place in the unified boat men's singles in the college group, and Wang Zhiyu/Xu Jing/Yan Chengjie/Shi Deqiang won the first place in the dragon board.
Lv Weiwu, the champion of the men's 15km self-brought boat event, said excitedly: "The water conditions of Jinji Lake and Dushu Lake are very good, and Suzhou Industrial Park has a very good water sports atmosphere, so it is a great honor to participate here. The team member from Singapore said: "It is an honor to participate in this competition, the scenery of Suzhou and the park is beautiful, and it is a very beautiful experience for us to be able to show our strength in such a beautiful place." ”
In 2023, under the guidance of the Suzhou Municipal Sports Bureau, the Suzhou Industrial Park Bureau of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and with the support of relevant departments, New Era Group successfully hosted the Jiangsu Youth Sailing League, Jinji Lake Kayak Challenge, Jinji Lake Paddleboard Challenge, and successfully co-organized a number of high-standard water professional events such as the Jinji Lake Intercity Inner Lake Cup Regatta, China Family Regatta, and Suzhou Popular Sports League. It has attracted more than 100,000 visitors. With the vigorous development of water events, water performances and water cultural exchange activities, water sports have become a "new landscape" of the city, a "new business card" to enhance the city's popularity and influence, and a "new highlight" to enrich the city's leisure life and tourism characteristics.
In the future, New Era Group will resolutely implement the requirements of the park's water prosperity, actively promote the coordinated development of "four lakes and two rivers", strengthen the cooperation of clubs and inter-city exchanges in the industry, introduce and undertake various domestic and foreign events with rich forms, strong ornamentation and high participation, continuously innovate the form of events, enrich water tourism products, cultivate water tourism characteristics, boost the vitality of waters, explore the integrated development of tourism + sports, tourism + exhibition, tourism + culture and other industries, and promote the integrated development of culture and tourism in the park. To create a "park model" and a unique "city business card" of international urban water eco-tourism, and strive to enter the first-class phalanx of water events and water tourism in the province.