The 2023 Optics Valley Marathon will be held on Oct 28, and the much anticipated marathon route was recently announced, helping runners rediscover the charm of the East Lake High-tech Development Zone (also known as Optics Valley of China, or OVC).

The route starts at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, which has produced a large number of skilled workers for the valley, and has cultivated over 750,000 graduates over the past seven decades.

The Optics Valley Square. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

Runners will then run across the Guanshan Avenue and Optics Valley Square, where nine long streets meet, connecting 10 nearby universities. Guanshan Avenue is home to five Fortune 500 companies, six listed enterprises, 10 unicorn firms, and many OVC landmarks.

The Optics Valley International Tennis Center. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

The terminal for the healthy running competition is the Optics Valley International Tennis Center, which many legendary tennis players, including Li Na, have been to.

Over the 13 to 15-kilometer course, runners will see the Optics Valley Biolake, Wuhan Biobank, and Wuhan Institute of Industrial Innovation and Development. The Biolake in OVC was established in 2008 and has since grown into a 100-billion-yuan-level ($13.93 billion) biomedicine cluster that is home to more than 3,000 biological enterprises.

An Optics Valley Book Room. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

In addition, the route includes the Optics Valley Lab, Wuhan East Lake Free Trade Zone, Optics Valley Central Ecological Corridor, Optics Valley sky rail, Optics Valley Book Rooms, Optics Valley Central City, and more.