At 8:51am on Sunday November 12th, Chen Liqin crossed the finish line at Chencun Flower World and became the winner of the first-ever Midea Shunde Half-Marathon. Sporting celebrities such as Jiao Liuyang, Olympic Champion, and Peng Jianhua, National Half Marathon Record Holder, were among the 10,000 runners that joined the hugely successful event organized by Midea Group.

The 21.09 kilometer-course represented the perfect showcase of Shunde for all the runners who had come from all over the country to race. Beginning in front of the Midea Group HQ, the start of the race highlighted the modern side of Shunde from the ALSO Creative Space to the HEM Art Museum with its Picassos and Kapoors. From there, the course took runners along the river and past the newly opened subway that connects Shunde with Guangzhou. The race was brought to a scenic end where runners crossed the finish line at the Chencun Flower World.

The half-marathon was just a part of the events organized by Midea Group, however, with the fun and games continuing long after the last runner had crossed the finished line. The area around Midea Group HQ was transformed with food stalls, arts & crafts pop-ups, and live music performances. Meanwhile, robots from KUKA were also on hand to customize medals and give runners a truly unique piece of memorabilia.

While the 1st Midea Shunde Half-Marathon has succeeded in putting Shunde on the running map, what it truly represented was a celebration of the area’s rich and proud history as well as the exciting promise of its future.