Xi'an postpones city wall international marathon

The 2020 edition of the Xi'an city wall international marathon, which was scheduled for April, will be put off due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, organizers said.

"To ensure the health of all runners, the 2020 Xi'an city wall international marathon will be postponed," the Xi'an sports bureau said in a statement.

"A new date for the race will be discussed and announced after the epidemic," added the statement.

Having been the ancient Chinese capital for 13 dynasties or empires, Xi'an is rich with historic relics in and around the city. The City Wall of Xi'an is an extension of the prior Tang Dynasty (618-907) structure. Its construction started in 1370 and completed in 1378. The rectangular construction is over four kilometers long from the east to west and about three kilometers long from the north to south. The total length is 13.7 kilometers.

The event was established in 1993. About 5,000 runners from 28 countries and regions took part in the 2019 edition competition, which featured three categories - half marathon, 13.7km race and 5km race.