The 2024 China Outdoor Sports Industry Conference opened in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province on Saturday.
Themed "Embrace the Excitement of the Outdoors and Unleash Innovative Vitality," the four-day conference features four major sections including thematic activities, sporting shows, resource promotions and competitions.
The conference mascot, Sinan Hero, made its debut at the opening ceremony, which was inspired by the ancient Chinese compass, symbolizing both cultural heritage and contemporary spirit of outdoor sports.
At the opening ceremony, Yang Xuedong, director of the Sports Economy Department of the State General Administration of Sport, released the China Outdoor Sports Industry Development Report (2023-2024). The report shows that China's outdoor industry has become an important force to promote the sports industry as a whole. Several other reports were also released at the ceremony.
"This conference will run events and activities in Dali [Bai Autonomous Prefecture], Lijiang City, Diqing [Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture] and Nujiang [Lisu Autonomous Prefecture] in Yunnan Province. One of the key features is this matrix approach, marking the first-ever collaboration in jointly holding the event involving four localities, which further highlights the outdoor sports resources and industrial advantages of western Yunnan. There are participants from Britain and countries of South Asia and Southeast Asia, which expands the international cooperation channels and enhances the industry's global influence," Yang said.
The conference was sponsored by the All-China Sports Federation and jointly hosted by the China Sports Industry Group, Yunnan Provincial Sports Bureau and the governments of Dali, Lijiang, Nujiang and Diqing.
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Outdoor Sports Industry Conference opens in Yunnan
The Montreux Jazz Festival China opened on the shore of Jinji Lake in Suzhou on Friday, providing an audio-visual feast to jazz fans that flocked there and bridging the cultural exchange between the East and the West.
This is the third time for the event to be held in China, with this edition themed "When West Meets East".
Upward of 100 Chinese and foreign musicians staged more than 20 performances during the three-day event, covering various music styles such as jazz, rock, electronic music, and pop, creating a cultural feast for the audience.
"It's great to discover a small part of China, because in three days -- I won't see a lot, but I really like to see how Chinese people are enjoying music. Yesterday evening during the concert of 'Earth, Wind and Fire', everyone was dancing. It was really lively , and really nice to enjoy this music together. Through music, we can understand each other. Sometimes it's very difficult to understand each other through the languages, and also sometimes with cultural gap. But through music we gather everyone around the emotions and the pleasure to share this kind of moment. This is why we promote the cultural exchange, in Montreux in Switzerland and also here, of course, in Suzhou. So we are very happy, and we hope to, maybe, welcome emerging musicians from China in Montreux," said Viviane Rychner Raouf, secretary general of Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation.
The concert "Earth, Wind and Fire Experience" mentioned by Raouf was given by Al McKay, one of the world's best Rhythm and Blues groups, and it provided a swing party to spectators.
Swiss music promoter Claude Nobs, who died in 2013, founded the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1967 and built it into an international festival and event platform for music lovers.
Since its creation, the festival under its slogan "Where Legends Are Born" has seen many iconic live music performances.
World-renowned music festival held in Suzhou
