The Tour of China 2016 will open on September 9 at Wuqing District, Tianjin and will last for 17 days, running through seven provinces and cities -- Tianjin city, Hebei province, Hubei province, Sichuan province, Chongqing city, Hunan province and Guangdong province.

Twenty-two cycling teams -- 16 international and six Chinese -- will participate in the event.

The Tour of China 2015 opens on October 17 in Tianjin. [Photo provided to Chinadaily.com.cn]

The Wuqing section of the 2016 competition is a lap race, with both the start and finish lines at the front square of the Wuqing Administrative Center.

Cyclists will race for 109.2 kilometers along several main streets of Tianjin including Yongyang West Road, Jingjin Expressway, Fuyuan Road and Qianjin Road.

The start and finish lines in 2015 were set in Tianjin. [Photo provided to Chinadaily.com.cn]

Some interesting activities such as a riding carnival, an honored cyclist event and a fancy car parade will be organized during the competition.

The Tour of China aims to encourage people to do sports and to promote a green and healthy lifestyle. It is the only trans-regional international individual sports event named after "China" and is the widest and longest international professional competition in the country.

The race, initiated in 2010, has been held for six years and the routes have covered 12 provinces and 47 cities.

Twenty-two cycling teams -- 18 international and four Chinese -- participated in the 2015 event. [Photo provided to Chinadaily.com.cn]

The 2015 competition also opened in Tianjin, with 18 international teams from the US, France and Italy and four Chinese teams taking part.

This year's event is sponsored by the Cycling and Fencing Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, the Chinese Cycling Association, the Tianjin Sports Bureau and the Wuqing government.