|
HONG KONG, Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In the latest episode of 'Tech For Good', CNN anchor and correspondent Kristie Lu Stout meets young innovators who are pushing the boundaries of sports science and engineering, designing cutting-edge technology that could one day redefine how athletes train, compete, and stay safe.
CNN first visits the University of Hong Kong (HKU), where student Jan Wong Ho Wang and his team have meticulously built an electric race car from scratch that will compete at an upcoming "Formula Student" competition in China. Under the guidance of academic advisor Dr. Match Ko and with Jason Chu Yan Kiu leading aerodynamics, the team has developed a unique Electrical Control Unit that will optimize the car's overall racing performance while specially designed crucial safety features guard against potential accidents and mishaps.
Across the globe, breakthroughs in athlete safety are taking shape at the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab. Led by Professor Steve Rowson, the lab, which began testing helmets in 2009, has expanded its scope from American football to a wide array of sports and occupational head protection gear. Illustrating this diversity, PhD student Caitlyn Jung's research is focused on kids' bicycle helmets, while master's students Andrew Calis and Katie Metrey are testing youth hockey helmets and the effects of lacrosse stick impacts directly to the head, respectively. Their work uses advanced sensors to measure impact forces, providing a detailed, public rating system (one to five stars) that goes beyond standard pass-fail certifications, driving manufacturers to prioritize safety.
Finally, CNN travels to the picturesque English countryside, to the University of Bath, where PhD student Mike Muckelt is part of a team revolutionizing the study of biomechanics in the gruelling winter sport of skeleton racing. Working with Senior Lecturer Dr. Steffi Colyer, the team developed a unique markerless motion capture system. This non-invasive technology uses specialized cameras to capture the athletes' movements at 200 frames per second during push-starts, identifying body landmarks without the need for traditional sensors or body suits. This data helps optimize performance by analyzing the inherent asymmetry of the sport, with future applications extending to other sports like tennis and badminton, and even healthcare for clinical gait analysis and rehabilitation. Mike will apply what he's learned from this trackside tech as a coach for Great Britain's skeleton team at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Tech for Good trailers: https://bit.ly/4oE8z2G
Tech for Good images: https://bit.ly/4nUyAK3
Tech for Good microsite: https://cnn.it/3PB5DSq
Airtimes for 30-minute special:
Saturday, 15th November at 2:30pm HKT
Sunday, 16th November at 12pm and 7pm HKT
Monday, 17th November at 6:30am HKT
About CNN International
CNN's portfolio of news and information services is available in seven different languages across all major TV, digital and mobile platforms, reaching more than 379 million households around the globe. CNN International is the number one international TV news channel according to all major media surveys across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific region, and Latin America and has a US presence that includes CNNgo. CNN Digital is a leading network for online news, mobile news and social media. CNN is at the forefront of digital innovation and continues to invest heavily in expanding its digital global footprint, with a suite of award-winning digital properties and a range of strategic content partnerships, commercialised through a strong data-driven understanding of audience behaviours. CNN has won multiple prestigious awards around the world for its journalism. Around 1,000 hours of long-form series, documentaries and specials are produced every year by CNNI's non-news programming division. CNN has 36 editorial offices and more than 1,100 affiliates worldwide through CNN Newsource. CNN International is a Warner Bros. Discovery company.
HONG KONG, Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In the latest episode of 'Tech For Good', CNN anchor and correspondent Kristie Lu Stout meets young innovators who are pushing the boundaries of sports science and engineering, designing cutting-edge technology that could one day redefine how athletes train, compete, and stay safe.
CNN first visits the University of Hong Kong (HKU), where student Jan Wong Ho Wang and his team have meticulously built an electric race car from scratch that will compete at an upcoming "Formula Student" competition in China. Under the guidance of academic advisor Dr. Match Ko and with Jason Chu Yan Kiu leading aerodynamics, the team has developed a unique Electrical Control Unit that will optimize the car's overall racing performance while specially designed crucial safety features guard against potential accidents and mishaps.
Across the globe, breakthroughs in athlete safety are taking shape at the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab. Led by Professor Steve Rowson, the lab, which began testing helmets in 2009, has expanded its scope from American football to a wide array of sports and occupational head protection gear. Illustrating this diversity, PhD student Caitlyn Jung's research is focused on kids' bicycle helmets, while master's students Andrew Calis and Katie Metrey are testing youth hockey helmets and the effects of lacrosse stick impacts directly to the head, respectively. Their work uses advanced sensors to measure impact forces, providing a detailed, public rating system (one to five stars) that goes beyond standard pass-fail certifications, driving manufacturers to prioritize safety.
Finally, CNN travels to the picturesque English countryside, to the University of Bath, where PhD student Mike Muckelt is part of a team revolutionizing the study of biomechanics in the gruelling winter sport of skeleton racing. Working with Senior Lecturer Dr. Steffi Colyer, the team developed a unique markerless motion capture system. This non-invasive technology uses specialized cameras to capture the athletes' movements at 200 frames per second during push-starts, identifying body landmarks without the need for traditional sensors or body suits. This data helps optimize performance by analyzing the inherent asymmetry of the sport, with future applications extending to other sports like tennis and badminton, and even healthcare for clinical gait analysis and rehabilitation. Mike will apply what he's learned from this trackside tech as a coach for Great Britain's skeleton team at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Tech for Good trailers: https://bit.ly/4oE8z2G
Tech for Good images: https://bit.ly/4nUyAK3
Tech for Good microsite: https://cnn.it/3PB5DSq
Airtimes for 30-minute special:
Saturday, 15th November at 2:30pm HKT
Sunday, 16th November at 12pm and 7pm HKT
Monday, 17th November at 6:30am HKT
About CNN International
CNN's portfolio of news and information services is available in seven different languages across all major TV, digital and mobile platforms, reaching more than 379 million households around the globe. CNN International is the number one international TV news channel according to all major media surveys across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific region, and Latin America and has a US presence that includes CNNgo. CNN Digital is a leading network for online news, mobile news and social media. CNN is at the forefront of digital innovation and continues to invest heavily in expanding its digital global footprint, with a suite of award-winning digital properties and a range of strategic content partnerships, commercialised through a strong data-driven understanding of audience behaviours. CNN has won multiple prestigious awards around the world for its journalism. Around 1,000 hours of long-form series, documentaries and specials are produced every year by CNNI's non-news programming division. CNN has 36 editorial offices and more than 1,100 affiliates worldwide through CNN Newsource. CNN International is a Warner Bros. Discovery company.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
CNN's 'Tech for Good' explores how young innovators are revolutionizing sports safety and performance with cutting-edge technology
ANSHUN, China, May 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 21, at the Guizhou Anshun Tourism Development Conference, Mafengwo Travel Group officially launched three flagship "New Mountain Play" benchmark projects — Huangheying Water Cave, Lotus Ancient Cave, and Luoyang Glasswater Gorge — while jointly releasing the 2026 Anshun Mountain Outdoor New Play Playbook with the Anshun Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, Radio, TV and Tourism. By redefining mountain outdoor travel experiences through "new play," the initiative injects fresh momentum into Anshun's positioning as an international mountain tourism destination.
"Personalized travel is rising rapidly. Tourism is transitioning from a 'sightseeing economy' to an 'experience economy.' More than just 'having been there,' travelers today seek emotional value from scenic spots and related projects," said Chen Gang, Founder and CEO of Mafengwo, in a speech titled *Co-creating the Super Play Era of Mountain Tourism*. He noted that leveraging benchmark new-play projects such as Huangheying Water Cave, Lotus Ancient Cave, and Luoyang Glasswater Gorge, Mafengwo will work with Anshun to integrate "new play, new formats, new marketing, and new consumption" into a holistic innovation ecosystem for destination-wide play. Together, they aim to revitalize natural resources, energize industrial momentum, link rural revitalization, and jointly build Anshun into a national hub for new mountain play.
At a time when travelers are increasingly weary of "man-made check-in spots" and homogenized internet-famous projects, the newly launched projects abandon the old path of large-scale construction. Instead, they return to the wild itself, adopting a "light development, heavy experience" approach to create mountain plays that are "wild on the outside, refined on the inside." Huangheying Water Cave focuses on "natural wonders + interactive adventure," using its original "water-cave" karst features to create a genuine sense of "underground exploration." Lotus Ancient Cave, based on a massive natural cave, integrates "light ultimate" activities such as via ferrata, rappelling, and cave drop towers, allowing ordinary visitors to feel adrenaline-pumping "heart-racing moments" in a natural setting. Luoyang Glasswater Gorge follows the original river course, using natural elevation differences to design trails for hiking, canyoning, and waterfall rappelling, with minimal artificial construction, emphasizing the pristine "glass water" and an eco-harmonious, back-to-nature mountain experience.
At the "2026 Anshun Mountain Tourism New Play" sharing session, Mafengwo Travel Group and the Anshun Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, Radio, TV and Tourism jointly released the *2026 Anshun Mountain Outdoor New Play Playbook*. Ten selected plays in non-traditional mountain settings were featured, including "Night Tour of Dupo Tang — Immersive Journey into the World of Journey to the West," "Watch Intangible Cultural Heritage 'Spider-Man' Climb Cliffs for Bird's Nests," and "370-Meter Free Fall at Balinghe Bridge." These showcase how Anshun creatively uses its karst landscapes as a natural "amusement park" for mountain experiences.
He Weihong, Vice Mayor of Anshun, stated in his address: "In Anshun, the 'City of 21°C,' mountains are no longer just scenery to be viewed. They are living fields to be climbed, immersed in, jumped over, and breathed in. Anshun will take this conference as an opportunity to accelerate the internationalization of its mountain tourism and build a first-class mountain outdoor sports destination." During the event, Anshun Tourism Group also promoted its mountain outdoor travel routes.
By early 2026, the number of outdoor sports participants in China had exceeded 400 million, with participation in mountain hiking, trail running, rock climbing, and canyoning rising year by year. Driven by the dual trends of "nationwide fitness" and "pan-outdoor" activities, mountain play is moving from niche circles to the general public. Unlike the high barriers of traditional outdoor activities, Anshun's new plays target the blue ocean market of "light ultimate + strong experience + high shareability." Whether it's a "bridge bungee jump," checking out the natural wonder "Eye of the Great Sage," or experiencing a "Journey to the West fantasy" at night by Dupo Tang Waterfall — these activities are novel, beginner-friendly, and serve as natural content and social currency.
Anshun's mountain play innovation has also attracted international attention. Anouar, Chief Representative of the Tunisian National Tourism Office in China, noted in his speech that Anshun's innovation in integrating mountain tourism and sports is worth learning from for many international peers. He noted that Tunisia has diverse mountain resources across the country, with history embedded in the mountains and culture in the scenery — this is the unique charm of Tunisia's mountains. He looks forward to China-Tunisia cooperation to explore more mountain tourism opportunities and co-create new partnership models.
An international dialogue session brought together representatives from the Norwegian National Tourist Board, Visit Flanders (Belgium), and the Saudi Tourism Authority to discuss mountain outdoor tourism upgrade from a global perspective. The guests agreed that they were delighted to see that Anshun is not simply replicating a "Switzerland of the East" but is creating an entirely new "universal language of mountain tourism." The internationalization of mountain tourism is not about imitation but about excavating the unique narratives of local landscapes — with its green mountains and clear waters as the canvas and play innovation as the brush, Anshun is painting a vibrant new picture for the world.
A domestic dialogue session brought together frontier explorers, practitioners, and experts in mountain sports tourism to discuss the future development of mountain sports tourism from the perspectives of communities, products, and operations. Qin Chuan, Founder of Wanan Youth Travel, noted that with technological advancements and equipment iteration, more and more "outdoor novices" without professional training can enjoy the pleasures of the wild. Currently, Wanan Youth Travel is selecting and developing "super single products" and continuously improving service quality to deliver ultimate outdoor experiences to visitors.
After the conference, industry guests conducted on-site inspections of new play projects, including Lotus Ancient Cave, Dupo Tang Night Tour, Anshun Ancient Town, and Getu River. Wang Yu, Chief Representative of the Norwegian National Tourist Board in Greater China, remarked: "Anshun and Norway share many similarities. Anshun's new mountain plays emphasize 'light development, heavy experience.' Take Lotus Ancient Cave — it doesn't feel like a 'designed' scenic spot, but rather an extension of Anshun's natural mountain charm itself, an experiential field you can fully immerse yourself in. The scale of this 'light ultimate' experience is just right — thrilling enough, yet truly authentic."
** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **
Light Ultimate, High Experience, Original Ecology, Personalization -- Mafengwo and Anshun Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, Radio, TV and Tourism Co-create New Forms of Mountain Tourism
Light Ultimate, High Experience, Original Ecology, Personalization -- Mafengwo and Anshun Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, Radio, TV and Tourism Co-create New Forms of Mountain Tourism
