On Sunday morning, multiple marathon races kicked off across China. 

Over 50,000 runners from 27 countries and regions registered for the Beijing Half Marathon. The route, spanning 21.0975 kilometers, started from Tiananmen Square and finished at the Olympic Park.

A timing chip gadget and face-recognition verification system are being used to secure the fairness and accuracy of the competition, according to the organizers.

After a four-year halt caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a total of 26,000 runners participated in the Wuhan Marathon in the provincial capital of central China's Hubei this year. Of these, 8,000 ran the full marathon, 10,000 took part in the half marathon and 8,000 ran a 13-kilometer race.

A total of 15,000 runners competed in the Shanghai Half Marathon on Sunday, meanwhile.

Over 1,500 runners joined a race in Chongqing Municipality in southwest China on Sunday.

In east China's Jiangsu Province, races were held in cities of Nanjing, Yangzhou and Yancheng respectively on Sunday. 

Over 10,000 runners signed up for the half marathon in Nanjing, while over 20,000 runners from 17 countries and regions joined the race in Yangzhou.

The event is named Yangzhou Jianzhen Half Marathon in honor of the Chinese monk Jianzhen, who helped to propagate Buddhism in Japan dating back to the years from 743 to 754.

As a part of the Grand Canal Marathons, the race was held along with the event in adjacent city of Yancheng, and featured over 15,000 runners.

The cities of Zhengzhou and Kaifeng in central China's Henan Province hosted the Zheng-Kai Marathon. The marathon featured multiple events such as full marathon, half marathon, five-kilometer run and parent-child races and took place in different parts of the two cities.