Rural Sports Events Ignite Tourism Boom Ahead of May Day Holiday

As the May Day holiday approaches, rural sports events such as "Village Run", "Village Volleyball" and "Gua Che Race" have become new highlights for travel, igniting public enthusiasm for sports and boosting local tourism vitality. The rising model of "traveling with events" has transformed sports tourism, once a niche hobby, into a popular choice among the public.

On April 26, the 2026 National Beautiful and Harmonious Village Health Run (Village Run) kicked off in Xixinan Village, Huizhou District, Huangshan City, Anhui Province. As the first stop of this year’s national Village Run, it attracted 5,000 participants from 26 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across the country to the thousand-year-old ancient village.

Closely linked to the traditional Chinese farming culture of the "Twenty-Four Solar Terms" and "Four Farming Seasons", the event set two categories: a 12-kilometer rural run and a 4-kilometer four-season run. A special Huizhou "Village Fair" held concurrently featured exhibition areas including "Village Flavors", "Village Exhibitions", "Village Intangible Heritage" and "Village Creations", showcasing more than 100 local products such as Huangshan Maofeng tea, stinky mandarin fish and torreya grandis. On-site demonstrations of traditional Huizhou crafts like intangible cultural heritage tea-making, Huizhou ink production and paper-cutting were also held.

In Guizhou Province, the final of the Libo Rural Volleyball League recently concluded successfully. On the evening of April 19, the championship match was held in a lively atmosphere, with cheerleaders and tourists cheering loudly. Outside the venue, ethnic performances such as horn dance, unity dance and folk song duets were staged in turn, integrating sports events with ethnic culture and attracting tourists to participate immersively.

Launched in January 2026, the league saw 106 teams compete in 380 matches over more than four months. By leveraging the popularity of the event, the local area has transformed sports "traffic" into cultural and tourism "growth". Since January 2026, Libo County has received more than 6.5 million tourists, a year-on-year increase of 18.9%, and its tourism revenue has exceeded 7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.8%.

"I visited the beautiful Xiaoqikong Scenic Area during the day and watched the rural volleyball match at night. It was a fulfilling and unforgettable trip," praised Qing Cheng, a tourist from Guangxi. Sun Yufeng, a tourist from Liaoning, said, "I never expected such a lively atmosphere at a rural match. People here truly love the sport. I hope Village Volleyball can go beyond Guizhou, reach the whole country and even the world."

Meng Bin, Director of Libo County Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports, stated that they will successively hold a series of events including the 13th National Volleyball Match, the Volleyball Match of the 12th Provincial Sports Meeting and the International Volleyball Elite Match to continue creating a national sports feast.

In Huixi Town, Linhai City, Zhejiang Province, the "Huaerqi Cup" Chase Freedom 2026 Huixi Gua Che Challenge started on the morning of March 21. Gua Che, a combination of road bikes and mountain bikes designed for unpaved roads and long-distance riding, brought vitality to the "Hometown of Chinese Ancient Architecture Craftsmen", with more than 300 domestic and foreign cyclists participating.

The organizers prepared exquisite welcome packages with local specialties for each participant. Many cyclists and their families chose to stay in Huixi for a few more days before and after the event to experience the local customs, including visiting ancient buildings, exploring ancient cities, tasting glutinous snacks and local dishes. This model effectively extends tourists’ stay time, turning the event’s "instant traffic" into long-term development momentum for the integration of agriculture, culture, tourism and sports.

"I will definitely recommend my friends to come to Huixi, whether for cycling or traveling," said Vito, an Italian working in a foreign enterprise, who was impressed by the local scenery, ancient villages and special food during his first participation.

Wu Jinmei, Deputy Director of the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that various regions are actively developing event economy to drive consumption in multiple fields. The integration of culture, tourism, sports and commerce creates new consumption scenarios and experiences, reducing costs and promoting prosperity of related industries.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched the 2026 National May Day Culture and Tourism Consumption Week on April 27 in Beijing. During the week, about 13,700 cultural and tourism consumption activities will be held across the country, offering more choices for residents and tourists during the holiday.