Xiamen annual marathon race.

Xiamen famous for her coastal sceneries is the host to the annual Xia厦men门International国际Marathon马拉松Race赛 (pinyin:Xià​mén​ guó​jì ​mǎ​lā​sōng ​sài​).

Photo by Xinhua news. Over 70,000 participants took part in this year's race which was flagged off at Xiamen international Conference and Exhibition Centre at No. 198, Huizhan Road, Siming District located on the southeast coast of Xiamen Island, with beautiful scenery and convenient traffic.

 It is directly facing Little Kinmen Island which was just 4.6km across the Taiwan Straits.
The Xiamen International Marathon Race is an annual event that began in the year 2003 and has attracted many international participants as well as the locals especially students attempting to gain bonus points for their National Higher Education Entrance Examinations.

This annual grand sports event is held every Saturday first week of January starting at 08:00am.

In Xiamen, January is the second coldest month of the year after February. During this month, the maximum temperature is 17°C (63°F) and the minimum temperature is 10 °C (50 °F).
The weather is cool, with more sunshine, less clouds and mist, strong winds, and little rain, making it cold and dry in January.

This should be the best time to visit Xiamen to spend your New Year Day,mingle with the crowds during the marathon race and towards the end of January will be the Chinese New Year celebration.

There were six places recommended for marathon enthusiasts to have a spectacular view of this great event namely the Huangcuo National Accounting Institute (terminal of 5km), intersection of Software Park (terminal of 10km), Baicheng, Lujiang Avenue, Hubin Bei Road (sprint of half marathon) and Dongdu Road (turning point of full marathon).

Route of full marathon (42.195km): Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Centre-Huandao Road-Minzu Road-Lujiang Avenue-Hubin Nan Road-Hubin Zhong Road-Hubin Bei Road-Dongdu Road-Hubin Xi Road-Lujiang Avenue-Yanwu Bridge-Huandao Road-Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Cenre

Route of wheel-chair half marathon: Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Centre-Huandao Road-Yanwu Bridge-Lujiang Avenue-Hubin Nan Road-Hubin Zhong Road-east section of Hubin Bei Road

The 2012 Xiamen Marathon consisted of five competing events, including the international marathon race, national marathon points race, wheel-chair half marathon race, 12-km roller skating race and city invitational marathon race across the straits.

The International Marathon race alone will include four categories which are full marathon, half marathon, 10-km and 5-km races. Registration fees
The winners of men's and women's full marathon will win 40,000 U.S. dollars each.
 The runner who can manage to renew the course record will bag 100,000 U.S. dollars and the prize for the world-record breaking feat is one million U.S. dollars.

Apart from the competing events, a series of culture events were also in the highlight, such as the Marathon Flame Lighting Ceremony and the marathon city mayors seminar.

During the 2012 Xiamen Marathon, a New Year Sailing tournament was also held. So that as the runners running along the coast, the boats will also be sailing on sea, creating a scenic picture for viewers.

 There were also 32 high-level athletes from eight Chinese provinces joining the marathon.

Visitors should also never miss visiting the Haicang Wildlife Zoo (Haicang Yesheng Dongwuguan) located at Jiaosong Donglu, Haicang Taiwanese Merchants Investment Zone, Xiamen to see the great Chinese Pandas which is a New Year Day present specially brought from Sichuan Province,Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center.

View only on New Year Day ,this year they brought in Ji Li,born on July 23, 2007 and weighs 91 kg.
Zoo entrance:40 Yuan.



Upcoming events at Xiamen International Convention and Exhibition Center(Xicec):

China International Fair For Investment & Trade -(08 - 11 September 2012)

China Xiamen International Win-Door & Wood Fair-(11 - 14 October 2012)

China Xiamen International Kitchen & Bathroom Fair-(11 - 14 Oct 2012)

China Xiamen International Tea,Coffee,Vegetarian Food Fair-(19 - 22 October 2012)

Xiamen (China) International Sporting Goods Fair-(25 - 28 October 2012)

Interphex China - Medical and Pharmaceutical -(07 - 09 November 2012)

China Xiamen International Stone Fair-real estate enterprises and construction companies (06 - 09 March 2013)  

Map of Xiamen Marathon Route (at point C you'll see the islet of Gulangyu,point F is the Haicang Bridge)