The 2025 Paragliding World Cup kicked off in Linzhou City, central China's Henan Province on Saturday, drawing 130 elite athletes from 24 countries and regions for a week of high-altitude competition.
Pilots launched from mountain slopes in the opening round of the global tournament, executing precision maneuvers in the "race-to-goal" discipline.
Dubbed "Formula 1 of the sky", the event combines navigational skills, meteorological analysis and strategic flight planning as competitors navigate electronic waypoints.
The competition runs through June 14, with pilots accumulating points toward the World Cup championship.
Linzhou's unique topography creates consistent thermal updrafts ideal for paragliding. The city has hosted over 40 high-level international paragliding events since 1992, including four World Cup competitions.
2025 Paragliding World Cup opens in China's Henan
The first phase of the 139th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, closed on Sunday with a record number of overseas buyers, the organizer said.
As of 5 p.m. on Sunday, about 167,000 overseas buyers from 216 countries and regions had attended the offline exhibition, up 5.9 percent from the same period of the previous edition, according to the China Foreign Trade Center.
The turnout, the highest for any first phase of the fair, underscored the resilience and vitality of China's foreign trade, it said.
The first phase of the fair, themed "advancing manufacturing," featured more than 25,000 booths, 740,000 products and over 12,000 exhibitors.
AI smart appliances, drones, new energy vehicles, and precision CNC machine tools were all on display. Spanning intelligent manufacturing, new energy, and high-end equipment, the showcase highlights the innovation capacity and vitality of China's advanced industrial system.
A total of 324 new product launch events were held, providing companies with an effective platform for networking and collaboration.
"We want to expand our relationship, and also bring innovation from here to Germany much faster, or to do European market much faster," said Kevin Klingler, a German purchaser.
This year's fair is being held in three offline phases in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, and will run through May 5. The second phase, scheduled from April 23 to 27, will focus on "quality home life," including building materials, furniture, household products, gifts and decorations.
Established in 1957, the Canton Fair takes place twice a year in Guangzhou. It is the longest-running of several comprehensive international trade events in China, and it has been hailed as the barometer of China's foreign trade.
Int'l buyers hit record for 1st phase of China's Canton Fair
