Thousands of runners kick off the 2025 Yangshan Half Marathon on March 30. [Photo provided to wuxi.gov.cn]

Seven thousand runners hit the pavement in the 2025 Yangshan Half Marathon in Huishan district, Wuxi, Jiangsu province, at 8 o'clock on March 30 with the sound of the starting gun.

Accompanied by the Olympic long-distance running champion Wang Junxia, the participants ran into the picturesque countryside featuring blooming peach blossoms.

Runners pose for a selfie before the 2025 Yangshan Half Marathon starts. [Photo provided to wuxi.gov.cn]

Since 2017, the Yangshan Half Marathon has been held for six editions. Through years of meticulous planning, the event has been certified as an A1-category event by the Chinese Athletics Association, continuously increasing its popularity and influence.

Running along the most beautiful scenery of Yangshan town has propelled this half marathon into the spotlight, attracting attention from marathon enthusiasts.

The countryside of Yangshan town is covered with blooming peach blossoms this spring. [Photo provided to wuxi.gov.cn]

The number of participants in this year's race exceeded 7,000, with nearly 5,000 participants in the fun run, 22 foreign participants, and 994 participants from outside Wuxi. At the same time, the Talent Running Team created by Huishan has attracted more than 200 high-level talents to register for the race.

Continuing the event's gold-standard service, this half marathon event deployed 1,650 police and security personnel, recruited and trained 1,116 volunteers, had over 100 race vehicles and 108 emergency medical team members on the track, and arranged 33 AED emergency devices, eight ambulances, and one rescue helicopter.