A thrilling half-marathon was held in Beijing Aerospace City in the Chinese capital's urban Haidian District on Saturday.
As part of the activities to mark the Space Day of China, the sporting event featured run distances spanning 5km, 10km, and 21.1km, with the participants mostly from the frontlines of space research.
For the first time, this year's race saw a humanoid robot participating as a pacesetter. It came after Beijing staged the world's first humanoid robot half-marathon last month, showcasing the country's progress in boosting its robotics industry.
Zou Jingyuan, a Chinese Olympic champion in men's parallel bars, and Wu Yanni, a female Chinese track and field star, were also present to set the pace for the competition in support of the runners.
Astronauts Deng Qingming and Li Cong, who were crew members of Shenzhou-15 and Shenzhou-18 manned spaceflight missions, respectively, presented the awards to the winners.
"We are living in a great era that gives us the confidence to run. It encourages innovation, embraces diversity, and enables every one of us with dreams to find our own track. Keep running and our dreams will eventually come true," said Li Cong.
"A marathon has a finish line, but our journey has no finish line, but only a beginning. We aim for the vast universe and aim to build the country into a great space power. In this great journey, we space workers will remain true to our original aspiration, keep our mission in mind, and forge ahead with determination," Deng said.
Home to the China Astronaut Research and Training Center, the China Academy of Space Technology and the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, the Beijing Aerospace City is the hub of the country's space industry.
Since 2016, China has marked a Space Day annually on April 24.
Half-marathon held in Beijing Aerospace City
Half-marathon held in Beijing Aerospace City
