The lakes and mountains are as picturesque as a painting, and the footsteps of hikers are as poetic as verses.
On December 7th, the 23rd Mofang Huizhou 60km Hiking Event of 2025 was held in Boluo County. Approximately 3,000 hikers set off from the Luofu Mountain Scenic Area Tourism and Culture Square, passing through Changning Town, Henghe Town, and Huzhen Town, circling Boluo’s “Little Erhai Lake,” enjoying the beautiful scenery, breathing in the natural oxygen bar, and experiencing the joy of exercise.
Guided by the Huizhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports and hosted by the Boluo County Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports, the event is a vivid practice of building a high-quality outdoor sports destination, developing the outdoor sports industry and promoting the integrated development of sports and tourism.
Checking in at Scenic Spots
Can’t Help Posting More Than 10 Moments on Social Media
At around 5 a.m., under the moonlight and with north winds blowing, the Tourism and Culture Square of Luofu Mountain Scenic Area was bustling with activity. 3,000 hikers gathered here one after another for the beautiful outdoor sports appointment.
At 6 a.m., with the starting whistle blowing, everyone followed the set route along the 218 Most Beautiful Tourism Highway to enter the Xi’gang Reservoir Greenway. When they arrived at the greenway, the sun had quietly risen. In the morning light, Xi’gang Reservoir beside the greenway shimmered, adding more charm to the beautiful “Little Erhai Lake”.
“Wow! It’s so beautiful!” said “Ningjing Zhiyuan”, a hiking enthusiast from Shenzhen, who participates in Mojiang’s large-scale hiking events every year. She has been to Boluo several times and found that the beauty is different each time. “I’m amazed again this time,” she said. Boluo’s “Little Erhai Lake” truly lives up to its reputation. The greenway underfoot offers stunning views, with mountains and rivers embracing each other in the distance and herons occasionally gliding across the sky. The tranquil scenery, like a traditional Chinese landscape painting, makes people feel relaxed and happy.
Ms. Wu, an outdoor sports enthusiast from Daya Bay, came hiking with four friends. She joked: “We used to exercise on our own like ‘wild horses’; today, participating in organized outdoor activities, we are ‘battle horses’ and must successfully complete the challenge.” They came to Luofu Mountain a day in advance and were deeply attracted by the beautiful scenery here. Each of them posted more than 10 moments on social media at once, “and got ‘complained’ by friends around us.”
The entire hiking route is 57 kilometers long, including about 36 kilometers of greenway, 18 kilometers of township and village roads, and 3 kilometers of farm roads. It passes through Changning Town, Henghe Town, Huzhen Town and returns to the Tourism and Culture Square of Luofu Mountain Scenic Area. Along the way, mountains and rivers complement each other, and the green and beautiful scenery fills everyone’s eyes. As the highlight of the journey, “Little Erhai Lake” once again gained popularity. Whether it was their first visit, second encounter or multiple trips, hikers were full of praise.
It is reported that the hiking event attracted hikers from all over the country, including Huizhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao. Ms. Gu from Shenzhen came with her husband and son, a family of three. At “Little Erhai Lake”, they slowed down many times to take photos and check in. She excitedly said: “The memory space of my phone is almost full and about to give an alert.”
Promoting Tourism Through Events
Visitors Enjoy Delicious Food, Villagers Increase Income
Such beautiful sports rendezvous are becoming more and more frequent in the leading area of Boluo. The popularity of outdoor sports and the attraction of beautiful mountains and rivers have made it a popular choice for outdoor sports.
Since the beginning of this year alone, Boluo has successively held a series of events such as the 2025 Mojiang Guangdong-Yue Cross-Country Race (Seeking the Tao in Luofu), the 218km Most Beautiful Tourism Highway Cycling Event, the 2025 Huizhou Around Nankun Mountain-Luofu Mountain Leading Area Parent-Child Hiking Event to Welcome the 15th National Games, and the 2025 Guangdong Provincial Staff Cycling Event Around Nankun Mountain-Luofu Mountain Leading Area of the “Guangdong Staff Culture and Sports Fair”. Projects such as cross-country, cycling and hiking have been continuously held here.
A series of outdoor sports held among the green mountains and clear waters of Boluo have not only made Boluo’s ecological beauty gain popularity, but also initially demonstrated the charm of the outdoor sports town, and further written a new chapter in sports empowerment and the integrated development of culture, tourism and sports. Every outdoor activity attracts a huge number of people, boosting the business of surrounding homestays and farm restaurants. For example, during this hiking event, the occupancy rate of homestays around the scenic area has increased significantly compared with usual. Wen Yuanfeng, the operator of Yiyi Pushu Homestay in Guoqian Village, Henghe Town, said: “The rise of outdoor sports has boosted the popularity of local tourism, and the business of homestays is naturally more guaranteed.”
In fact, not only during organized large-scale outdoor activities, but also on usual days, especially weekends, the 218 Most Beautiful Tourism Highway and the post stations and art installations along the way attract cycling and hiking enthusiasts to check in. The local agricultural products and special snacks sold by surrounding farmers are also very popular among tourists. At present, Boluo’s fruit sugarcane is on the market. On Saturdays and Sundays, Ms. Zeng, a villager, transports fresh fruit sugarcane from Lizhizun Village, Changning Town (her mother’s hometown) to set up a stall near “Little Erhai Lake”. She said: “The fruit sugarcane from Lizhizun Village is of good quality and famous far and wide. Every time I bring a tricycle full, it can be sold out.” It is the holding of these outdoor sports events that has opened up new ways for rural revitalization and villagers to increase their income and become rich. Now, like Ms. Zeng, many local and surrounding people set up stalls near “Little Erhai Lake” every weekend. Visitors enjoy delicious food, and villagers increase their income.
Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission and the General Administration of Sport of China released the list of the first batch of 49 national high-quality outdoor sports destinations, and the Huizhou Around Nankun Mountain-Luofu Mountain Outdoor Sports Destination was on the list, which will bring new expectations for the development of Boluo’s outdoor sports industry. It can be predicted that with the development of outdoor sports, the effect of the integrated development of culture, tourism and sports will be more obvious.
Reporter’s Observation
Transforming Sports Traffic into Economic Retention
The beautiful “Little Erhai Lake” has quickly gained popularity due to outdoor sports and gathered a large number of visitors. The arrival of tourists has laid the foundation for local people to set up stalls.
Nowadays, every weekend or holiday, “Little Erhai Lake” welcomes a large number of tourists, building a bridge between local people and visitors, and gradually becoming a stable channel for people to expand their income.
The lakes and mountains are as picturesque as a painting, and the footsteps of hikers are as poetic as verses. A series of outdoor events have brought the green mountains and clear waters to life, and made the concept of “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” a reality.
Sports empowerment and ecological monetization. From hiking to cycling, from sightseeing to playing, outdoor sports have not only made Boluo’s ecological beauty gain popularity, but also driven the sales of surrounding homestays, farm restaurants and local agricultural products, opening up new ways for villagers to increase their income. This model of transforming “sports traffic” into “economic retention” is a vivid practice of the in-depth integration of culture, tourism and sports.
Events attract visitors and increase industrial efficiency. The huge popularity of large-scale events has directly driven local tourism consumption, and the occupancy rate of homestays has increased significantly. Daily cycling and hiking enthusiasts also bring a steady stream of tourists to the countryside, and the stalls of local agricultural products on weekends have become a beautiful scenery.
Today, this hot land is using the “double oars” of sports and ecology to row the “ark” of the integrated development of culture, tourism and sports towards the broad blue sea of comprehensive rural revitalization.
