Xinhua Silk Road: 9th Shenyang Open Regatta breathes new life into "rowing capital" in NE China

BEIJING, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- After eight years of branding, the Shenyang Open Regatta, a yearly rowing event held on the Hunhe River in the capital of Liaoning Province in northeast China, was under the spotlight again recently.

On September 13, the 9th Shenyang Open Regatta concluded on the beautiful still-water course of the Hunhe River and one day later, the 7th Shenyang Youth Rowing Invitational, tailored for young players, also closed in cheers and excitement.

With the goal of building a "rowing capital" already included in Shenyang's development plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the open regatta, aimed at further expanding Shenyang's influence in the rowing field, drew widespread attention.

Competing on the 1,000-meter straight course and the 4,500-meter course around an island on the Hunhe River, dozens of teams from home and abroad showed their vigor in contests in rowing, paddle boarding and recreational kayaking.

Among them, there were teams from renowned universities such as Peking University, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, University of Otago, and Tongji University, as well as major firms and brands including BMW, CR Land, Kingdee, and Jianlibao.

To broaden the participant base, the 2026 Shenyang Open Regatta added new contests in paddle boarding and recreational kayaking, encouraging amateur and young players from near and far to experience the charm of water sports.

Apart from traditional rowing races, the open regatta introduced globally popular physical strength challenges for the first time, combining aquatic and on-land physical strength competitions to further ignite the passion of participants.

During this year's open regatta, which began on September 11, riverside nighttime activities such as sunset parties where sightseeing, music and sports well intertwined, and nearby market fairs largely boosted the "sports plus night economy" along the Hunhe River.

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