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Equestrian festival in Wenjiang drives development

As the host city of the China Equestrian Festival for the past three years, Wenjiang district in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, is aiming to expand the annual event's influence and boost the district's economic development.

More than 140 athletes and their 160 horses will take part in the 5th China Equestrian Festival, which will be held at the Jinma International Equestrian Sports Park from Nov 7 to 9.

Under the theme "harmony, health, and enjoy", the festival will consist of four major competitions and a series of cultural activities.

The competitions include the Chengdu stop of the 2014 Longines China Tour, the 2014 China Speed Racing Tour final, the third Sichuan Equestrian Barrel Racing competition and the second Chengdu Youth Equestrian Skills competition.

The festival will also host a horse-themed photo exhibition, charity rides for autistic children and will introduce equestrianism to schools.

Li Nianxi, secretary-general of the China Equestrian Association, said it was the first time for Chengdu to host the Longines China Tour - a two-star level Federation Equestre Internationale, or FEI, event.

"Some of the athletes for the Longines China Tour gained experience and put on good performances at the Olympic Games and the World Equestrian Games," he said.

The China Equestrian Festival, which has been held in Wenjiang every year since 2012, is the largest and highest-level equestrian event in western China.

"The event has drawn global attention," Li said. "Early in 2012, when I was at the FEI Congress, some European jockeys asked me about the China Equestrian Festival and said they were interested in taking part in the competitions."

Li said the China Equestrian Association would continue to support the future development of the festival and try and make it one of the world's best-known equestrian events.

"With the tradition of raising and racing horses since ancient times, Wenjiang has seen rapid development in both equestrian sports and the horse industry in recent years," said Xie Chao, Party Chief of Wenjiang district.

"The fast development of equestrian events and recreational equestrian sports has enabled Wenjiang to build itself into a national-level base of the sports industry, and thus help the district to achieve its goal as an international satellite city of Chengdu," he said.

Lin Xiang, district chief of Wenjiang, said the China Equestrian Festival gave the district's brand marketing a strong boost.

"The festival attracts large numbers of tourists and adds to Wenjiang district's reputation as a well-known leisure travel destination, which creates great opportunities for its industrial transformation and upgrading," he said.

Wenjiang welcomed 11.5 million tourists in the first nine months of this year, an increase of 17.7 percent year-on-year. Its tourism revenue surged 40.5 percent during this period.

In order to protect the area's environment and maintain sustainable development, the Wenjiang government has prioritized the development of the service industry and leisure-related sectors such as sports and tourism.

A 200-kilometer greenway, which is shaded by trees, goes across the whole district and winds through farms, along rivers and streams and offers cycling and hiking paths. The greenway has been used for several of national and provincial-level sports events.

Wenjiang has the only national-level base for the sports industry in western China-the Chengdu National Sports Industry Base, which was approved by the General Administration of Sport of China in 2006.

Located in the district's Jinma township, the base focuses on a few main aspects including professional sports events like the China Equestrian Festival, leisure sports, indoor skiing, electronic sports and bicycle races, sports theme parks and sports goods development and manufacturing.

"The base is expected to create 30,000 to 50,000 jobs and draw 7 million visitors a year after it becomes fully operational," said a local official.

The 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) base aims to boost the sports industry and modern service industry in Wenjiang and Sichuan province.

The Jinma International Equestrian Sports Park at the base owns one of the best racecourses in China, which is of a global standard. On April 6, the Meydan group, organizers of the Dubai World Cup, held a world-class horse event in China for the first time at the park. Jockeys from several countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, France and Argentina, competed in five races that carried a total purse of 3.75 million yuan ($603,000) during the one-day event.

Contact the writers at liyu@chinadaily.com.cn and pengchao@chinadaily.com.cn

The China Equestrian Festival in Wenjiang district in Chengdu is to attract more than 140 athletes this year. Photos Provided to China Daily

An athlete shows his unique horse skills at the event last year.