The China Media Group (CMG) Shanghai Central Bureau, CGTN and the China Media Group Mobile (CMG Mobile) joined hands to launch the "Coffee Together" Carnival in east China's Shanghai on Saturday. It is a cross-section event of cooperation with a local forest cross-country half marathon in the Shanghai Gongqing Forest Park.

There were races in three categories during Saturday's event: a half marathon, a 7-kilometer cross-country competition and a 2.5-kilometer parent-child bounding race. Over 3,000 runners participated in the event while the Coffee Together mascot, the "Walking Coffee," was there to accompany them.

The half marathon began at 8:00 a.m. Having cheered for the runners at the starting line, Walking Coffee then joined the competition and led the ensuing 2.5-kilometer race. The interactions between the mascot and children showed the unique fun of combining coffee and sports together. Many kids were amazed by the antics of the cute mascot.

In Shanghai, a cosmopolitan city with a tremendous number of cafes, coffee has combined with various elements to generate more and more multi-dimensional events and create new motivations to stimulate consumption. 

Marathon aside, participants in this carnival also had access to a series of other sports, including ultimate, paddle boarding and surfskating.

Moreover, the Coffee Together emojis were released on Saturday by the CMG Shanghai Central Bureau and CGTN. The emojis are in both Chinese and English for users all over the world to enjoy. By searching "Coffee Together" (一起咖啡吧 in Chinese) on WeChat, one can find the adorable Walking Coffee with different expressions.

Coffee Together began in late February and already launched multiple events to deeply explore the various cultures of different districts of Shanghai. By combining coffee with different scenes, the carnival has been displaying Shanghai's qualities as a city and local energy for consumption.

The Publicity Department of Communist Party of China (CPC) Shanghai Municipal Committee, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, as well as Cooperation and Exchange Office of Shanghai Municipality, all provided support to the Coffee Together Carnival. It will join hands with the third edition of the Shanghai Coffee Culture Week to release the coffee honor list in late May.