(Yicai Global) March 31 -- A slew of marathons are expected to be held in China in the first half as cities are striving to stimulate event and tourism recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chinese cities in 26 provincial-level administrative regions have filed plans for 133 road running events, consisting of 61 marathons and 72 half marathons and other road runing races, for the first six months of this year, according to a work report by the Chinese Athletics Association.

On March 26 alone, more than 300,000 runners joined marathons across China, including the cities of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing and Kunming, based on public data.

Big sporting events boost regional consumption. Earlier this month, a marathon in eastern China's Wuxi attracted 115,000 runners from 37 countries and regions to participate and 273,000 people to watch along the route, according to official data.

Most people coming from other regions to Wuxi arrived early, spending money at hotels, restaurants, and cultural venues. The race brought CNY117 million (USD17 million) to local hotels and CNY69.6 million (USD10.1 million) to catering venues, according to the city administration.

The annual marathon in southwestern China's Chongqing drives about CNY300 million in tourism consumption, according to the local sports bureau. This year, the Nan'an district of the city also launched a new festival called the Chongqing Marathon International Consumption Festival for the first time. It attracted 697,800 visitors in the district alone, including 64,000 people who stayed overnight, and the related retail sales of consumer goods tallied CNY690 million.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi