On August 18th, the 2018 China Garze Mt. Gonggar 100 km International Outdoor and Mountain Sports Challenge commenced at Kangding City in Garze Prefecture of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

From August 18th to the 20th, one hundred and ten players from China, Germany, Moldova, and other countries and regions will compete for more than 100 km around Mt. Gongga, known as the "King of Mountains in Sichuan".

This competition began in 2015, and is in its fourth year; it is known as a Level A international event with the world's highest altitude, most complex route, and most scenic sights, as well as the only competition with snowy mountain scenery above more than 6,000 meters in China.

The snowy slopes, grand glaciers, rushing rivers, deep forests, and diverse terrains along the route offer spectacular natural scenery, and made many fans of the competition call it "China's Most Beautiful Outdoor Race". Meanwhile, its altitude and difficulty also won the competition the nickname of "The Hardest Track of China".

The route is 102 km this year, with altitudes ranging from 1,430 to 4,000 meters. The race in high altitude regions will require the domestic and international players to overcome issues such as lack of oxygen, high altitude effect, and unpredictable weather, etc., in order to win.

The 110 players were carefully selected from almost 1,000 applicants, with 82 male athletes and 28 female athletes. Among them, German player Hartman had participated in the most renowned event of the world, the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) ultramarathon race.

Prize money for the competition is at 300 thousand yuan (44 thousand US dollars).

Editor: Tommy Tan.