Sichuan and Chongqing Join Hands to Sing the “Twin Cities” Symphony of New Era Sports

The 4th “Bashan Shushui·Sports Sichuan-Chongqing” Sports Tourism Leisure Consumption Season (Panzhihua Eastern District Station) of 2024 Kicks OffOn December 15, the 4th “Bashan Shushui·Sports Sichuan-Chongqing” Sports Tourism Leisure Consumption Season (Panzhihua Eastern District Station) of 2024 kicked off at the Ashuda Sports Park in Panzhihua. This event, themed “Bashan Shushui·Sports Sichuan-Chongqing,” deeply integrates multiple elements such as “culture, sports, tourism, commerce, and agriculture.” Through multi-industry linkage and diversified consumption scene construction, it highlights the features of public participation and national fitness, crafting a series of sports tourism and leisure consumption activities that showcase the unique characteristics of Panzhihua.

The event is hosted by the Sichuan Provincial Sports Bureau, Chongqing Municipal Sports Bureau, Panzhihua Municipal People’s Government, and the Chengdu-Chongqing Sports Industry Alliance. It is organized by the Panzhihua Municipal Education and Sports Bureau, Panzhihua Municipal Commerce Bureau, Panzhihua Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau, and the Panzhihua Eastern District People’s Government.

The event began in a joyful atmosphere of “Come to Panxi to bask in the sun, meet the Eastern District, the sun sings here.” Thousands of citizens, tourists, and participants gathered on the scene to witness a “sunshine feast” with distinct Panzhihua characteristics. During the opening ceremony, the 2024 China Sports Tourism Boutique Projects (scenic spots, routes, events, destinations), Chengdu-Chongqing Sports Industry Alliance member units, and 2024 Star-rated Sports Service Complexes were awarded plaques. Subsequently, Panzhihua’s cultural and tourism promotion officer introduced Panzhihua’s sports tourism resources and released a smart guide map for sports tourism in Panzhihua.

Sichuan and Chongqing Join Hands to Sing the “Twin Cities” Symphony of New Era Sports

As a sports tourism brand jointly created by Sichuan and Chongqing, the “Bashan Shushui·Sports Sichuan-Chongqing” Sports Tourism Leisure Consumption Season has traveled through 17 cities in Sichuan and Chongqing since 2021. The sports linkage between the two regions has become closer, and the sports industry in Sichuan and Chongqing has flourished.

Event activities are an essential part of each station’s consumption season. During the Eastern District station activities, the National Mountaineering Fitness Trail League Finals and the Eastern District Community Sports Festival, among other sports tourism and wellness-themed activities, were held simultaneously. The National Mountaineering Fitness Trail League Finals attracted about 2,200 participants from across the country, gathering at the Ashuda Sports Park in Panzhihua to experience a unique sports feast amidst sunshine and beautiful scenery. The Eastern District Community Sports Festival provided a grand stage for national fitness for the general public, with sports activities such as square dancing, pot throwing, disc nine-square grid, and long rope skipping allowing people of different age groups to participate and enjoy the fun of sports.

“Because of an event, I fell in love with a city. During my trip to Panzhihua, its warm sunshine, abundant fruits, and the enthusiasm of the Panzhihua people deeply moved me. I will definitely recommend this city to my family and friends when I return,” said Wang Lili from Chongqing, who participated in the family parent-child group competition.

In recent years, the sports departments of Sichuan and Chongqing have joined forces to continuously promote the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing Sports Industry Alliance, clarifying the work strategy of “Three Unions, Two Creations, One Brand.” This has strengthened the co-construction and sharing of sports industry resources, enhanced the regional characteristic advantages of innovative development, and promoted the high-quality integrated development of the sports industry in Sichuan and Chongqing.

“Sports+” Deep Integration Constructs New Diversified Sports Consumption Scenes

Enjoy the scenery and culture through sports, and the fun of sports in leisure and entertainment. On the morning of December 14, the 2024 4th “Bashan Shushui·Sports Sichuan-Chongqing” Sports Tourism Leisure Consumption Exhibition (Panzhihua Eastern District Station) grandly opened at Taigu Square, attracting large numbers of citizens and tourists to participate.

The consumption exhibition is divided into three major exhibition areas: the “Fun” Sports Experience Zone, the “Sports+” Comprehensive Display Zone, and the “Joy” Health Performance Zone. Over 20 booths showcased more than 40 premium consumption brands from Panzhihua City and its counties, including sports industry products, vanadium-titanium specialty products, outstanding sports training institutions, specialty agricultural products, and cultural and creative products, dazzling visitors. The multi-industry integration of “Sports+ Technology,” “Sports+ Tourism,” “Sports+ Commerce,” “Sports+ Cultural Creativity,” and “Sports+ Rural Revitalization” constructs new consumption scenes, stimulating public enthusiasm for fitness and further activating new vitality in sports consumption.

“Are these agricultural products from the Eastern District? Is there anything fun you can recommend?” a couple of out-of-town tourists were conversing with staff at a booth. Aunt Chen said, “My husband and I love to travel and see the great mountains and rivers of our country. We came to Panzhihua a few days ago and felt the sunshine was great here, so we plan to stay a few more days. Today, we’ve seen many specialty products here, further understanding the city, which is great.”

“This time, we are using the sports consumption season as a display window, allowing more people to use technology to understand their body functions and health indicators, guiding exercise fitness and scientific sleep. In Chengdu, we have already served over 500 customers and hope to gain more user groups in Panzhihua, a place particularly suitable for wellness,” said a staff member surnamed Kong from a participating technology company in Chengdu.

It is reported that to further stimulate and drive consumption, the Eastern District, in cooperation with sports venues and enterprises, cultural and tourism attractions, and major business districts in the district, launched sports tourism consumption vouchers and experience coupons, providing real discounts for citizens and tourists to enjoy sports, food, entertainment, and shopping in the Eastern District.

In recent years, the Eastern District has actively carried out the “Three In” activities of sports events entering scenic spots, streets, and business districts, relying on Donghuashan Mountain Sports Park, Ashuda Flower Sea, and Yinjing Lake water space to create new landmark features of “mountain, sea, and lake,” forming a city tour line of “up to travel the mountains, middle to view the sea, down to play the lake, and flower viewing throughout the city.” With abundant sports resources and the “travel, shop, entertain, eat, stay, and travel” industry, it continuously “unlocks” new scenes for hosting events, bringing events “into the circle,” promoting “Sports+” to break through boundaries, and transforming “event traffic” into “consumption increase.”

Travel with Events to Continuously Enhance Urban Influence

During the opening ceremony, Panzhihua officially released the sports tourism smart guide map, further accelerating the construction of Sichuan Province’s sports consumption pilot city, enhancing the citizens’ sports health experience, and better promoting Panzhihua’s “Warm Flower City·Sports Wellness” city image.

Through this platform, users can accurately locate their desired sports venues based on region or project type, whether it is professional venues full of sports industry vitality, national fitness areas for enjoying sports fun, or boutique routes integrating culture, sports, and tourism—all can be accessed with one click.

In addition, this consumption season also launched the online 2024 “Look East” National Fitness Check-in Competition and Consumption Season Torch Relay Activity. Citizens can register for the competition by passing the torch poster, check-in Panzhihua Eastern District landmarks with WeChat sports steps generated by exercise fitness, such as Donghuashan Mountain Sports Park, Taigu Square, and Kailege Flower Art Yard, with individual and team competitions and generous check-in bonuses, fully mobilizing the public’s enthusiasm for fitness and enhancing the promotion of Eastern District’s cultural and tourism resources to increase the city’s influence.

Notably, this consumption season also organized a self-driving tour team. A total of 44 car enthusiasts from Chengdu and surrounding areas departed from the “Park City under the Snow Mountains” and headed towards “A Flower,” journeying together to meet “mountains, sea, and lakes.”

“In our self-driving tour circle, the sunshine of Panzhihua is very famous,” said Liu Jiwei, an enthusiast of self-driving tours, along with his wife Wang Jinghui. “When car friends in Chengdu talk about where to go in winter, everyone says go south to Panzhihua!” The self-driving team visited Taigu Square, the Third Line Construction Museum, Ashuda Starry Campsite, and other places, all expressing that the trip was worthwhile.

Multiple Measures to Activate the Event Economy Sichuan Sports Consumption Boosts Economic Growth

The successful opening of this consumption season event is a practical move by Panzhihua Eastern District and even Sichuan Province to vigorously carry out the series of activities of “sports events entering scenic spots, streets, and business districts,” and is a typical epitome of comprehensively activating the event economy with multiple measures, transforming the “energy” of sports consumption into “increment” of the economy.

Known as the “Warm Flower City,” Panzhihua has focused on high-quality development this year, actively exploring the sports path to achieve common prosperity. It has successfully hosted more than 30 events, including the National Mountaineering Fitness Trail League Finals and the 14th National Games Canoe Slalom Competition, hosting over 130 domestic and international sports teams and more than 4,000 athletes for winter and summer training each year. The Eastern District seized the opportunity of “mountain, sea, and lake” construction, organically combining “sports” with nature, focusing on creating new formats and scenes of “sports, culture, and tourism,” forming a city roaming route of “up to travel the mountains, middle to view the sea, down to play the lake, and flower viewing throughout the city,” running at an accelerated pace on the track of all-round open development. The city’s reputation and influence have climbed steadily, becoming an outstanding representative of the deep integration of sports tourism development in Panzhihua City.

A relevant person in charge of the Sichuan Provincial Sports Bureau stated that they hope Panzhihua will take the opportunity of hosting the “Bashan Shushui·Sports Sichuan-Chongqing” Sports Tourism Leisure Consumption Season to further enhance the city’s attractiveness, continuously create influential and economically beneficial IP events, deepen the integrated development of culture, sports, tourism, commerce, wellness, and agriculture, actively explore the sports path to achieve common prosperity, jointly write a new chapter in the development of Sichuan and Chongqing sports, and continuously release the economic benefits and social effects of sports events to empower and add color to the construction of a modern sports strong province.