Students of ZUST participated in the fitness walking activity. photo provided to Hangzhoufeel
Event
By Colin Barrett
On May 7, ten foreign students from the Zhejiang University of Science and Technology were gifted with an opportunity to participate in the 2023 National Grand Canal Walk fitness walking in Hangzhou's Linping district. With the hope of fitness for all, it aims to offer the citizens more chances to enjoy a healthy life and the canal culture before the Hangzhou Asian Games.
People in our group are from different countries, Jamaica, Indonesia, Somalia, Ivory Coast and Nigeria, to name a few. It was our first time coming to Linping. We were highly impressed with the organization of the event from the beginning to the end.
From the moment we arrived, we were warmly greeted and gifted with items. We received a goodie bag with a cap and raincoat in it, which became handy in the drizzling rain. We also received a branded T-shirt for the Grand Canal and an all-in-one Tourism Guide Book that recommends different types of interesting places that one can explore in the district, whether it be for travel purposes or for eating local foods.
At the opening ceremony we saw many interesting performances together with more than 3,000 participants. For the ones that I do know they included rolling lanterns dance and an amazing dance performance by a children's group. Then we began our 10-km hiking.
Along the route, it was very fun and enlightening to see a brand new view in the city, such as the passing boats busy shipping. Additionally, there were flags along the sides of the path directing us to the designed route. After walking every few kilometers, there would be stations supplying water and other beverages.
I completed the journey in 2 hours and 49 minutes, marking 14,411 steps on my phone. It was a tough journey, but the time spent enjoying the scenery and walking with friends made it all worth it. At the terminal, we tried a lot of local foods such as Zongzi, icy fruit jelly, and pumpkin pancakes.
Last but not the least, the following are three recommended routes. Ours was tour A.
Tour A：Grand Canal
Tangqi Ancient Town- Grand Canal Greenway-1986 Cultural and Creative Park（farm & coffee）- Shuangqiao Village（crayfishing）- Xinyu Village（lotus pond）- Hangnan Village（water activity）
Tour B：Secret Path
Tangqi Ancient Town- Tangchao Greenway- Chaoshan Scenic Spot- Tangqi Village（go-karting & fruits picking）
Tour C：Asian Games
Linping Sports Center-Jiangnan Water Township Cultural Museum- Linping Mountain Greenway- Donglai Pavillion- Hangzhou Running Center- E-fashion Town