Editor’s Note

On 29 May, the 2022 International Mountain Tourism Day theme event was held online and themed on “Mountain Tourism Promotes Healthy Life and Cultural Exchange”. The event motivated the New Media network, connected IMTA members, destination agencies, enterprises, and experts from all over the world, and carried out “cloud communication, dialogue, and presentation” around three chapters — “Focus · Mountain”, “Health · Life”, and “Civilization · Communication”. Against the complex global landscape and threat from COVID-19, the event helps create a healthier and more positive atmosphere and market for mountain tourism, promote cultural exchange, friendly communication, and mutual integration among countries, to jointly prepare, build, and share a bright future of mountain tourism. At the event, Xiao Gang, China Regional Representative of International Nordic Walking Federation, Famous Mountain Sports and Health Wellness Expert, delivered a speech.

Mountain Sports -- Better Choice During the Pandemic

Hello, everyone. The topic I want to share with you today is that “Mountain Sports -- Better Choice During the Pandemic”. Currently, the world is under the severe influence of the COVID-19. Under such circumstance, we should try to keep healthy and enhance our immune system. Sports is a crucial method to improve immunity and maintain healthy. In the medical field, aerobic capacity is the fifth sign of life which refers to the vital body features when we are alive. These signs include respiration, pulse, blood pressure and temperature, and now the aerobic capacity is categorized as the fifth sign of life.

Aerobic capacity represents the endurance of doing sports. It is closely related with our cardio-pulmonary function and metabolic ability. People with high aerobic capacity will find marathon an easy task while those with low aerobic capacity will have difficulties even walking for 500 meters or 1000 meters without experiencing short of breath, resulting in giving up. People with high aerobic capacity will have a lower risk of getting severe illness while those who don’t will stand a high risk of becoming severely ill. People with higher ability of doing aerobic sports will be easily cured once they are ill, but others who do poorly in aerobic sports will face a lower chance of being cured if they become ill.

Doctors have to perform several procedures for patients. On the one hand, heartache patients should receive medical treatments including coronary artery bypass grafts and coronary stenting, depending on their different conditions, and cancer patients should be given chemotherapy as their treatments. Meanwhile, doctors also would recommend patients to participate in aerobic sports to improve their health conditions and help them to get better soon. There is even a movement called Sports is a Good Medicine going on in the medical world. Sports not only benefits the body but also cures diseases. As an effective medicine, sports has its own dose when prescribing sports as medicine, doctors have to consider such questions as what kind of sports is suitable for the patient, how many times a week, how long each session will take and the intensity of doing sports.

Mountain sports is an important way of doing sports. We would strongly recommend people taking part in mountain sports especially when we are in the middle of pandemic. Firstly, it is much safer. As it takes place in the vast mountain areas where people can keep distances with each other, thus lowering the risk of transmitting the virus. Secondly, it is much easier. Because the negative air (oxygen) ion and oxygen level in the air is quite high which makes doing sports more comfortable and easier. Also, the beautiful mountainous scenery helps make one feel cheerful. Particularly for people who are under strict quarantine up to several months long due to the pandemic. Going outdoors to mountains will certainly play an important role in regulating our emotions.

Besides, mountain sports produce positive effects for people mainly because firstly, the high amount of negative air (oxygen) ion and oxygen in mountain areas can dramatically improve our health. Secondly, mountain sports provide a wide range of options for people to choose including hiking, mountain climbing, rock climbing, rafting and mountain cross country. Thirdly, the complex landscapes of mountains cover both plateau and plain areas. We should increase the intensity of exercise when we are in the plateaus while reduce it when we are in flat areas. And we call such exercises high intense interval training (HIIT). HIIT research plays a crucial role in helping us improve our cardiopulmonary function and metabolic capacity.

Mountain sports is also a part of mountain tourism, which includes mountain sightseeing tourism, mountain wellness tourism, mountain cultural tourism and mountain sports tourism. Today is our International Mountain Tourism Day, we would like to encourage more friends to take part in mountain sports under the backdrop of pandemic. Walk to live a healthy and happy life.

This is the end of my sharing, thank you all for watching!