The second leg of the 4th Shenzhen X9 Alliance of Universities and Institutes (X9 Alliance) Rowing League Around X-Lake Sciensityopened at the Dasha River Ecological Corridor in Nanshan District on June 29, drawing rowing teams from seven global universities to highlight the city’s role as a hub for international education and cross-cultural collaboration.

Rowing teams compete during the race. Photos courtesy of Shenzhen Special Zone Daily

Competitors from Shenzhen University, Southern University of Science and Technology, Peking University, Tsinghua University, the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Sydney took to the Dasha River in Nanshan for a series of races.

The competition featured four groups of 800 meter races: a men’s group of eight paddlers with a helmsman, a women’s group of eight paddlers with a helmsman, a mixed group of eight paddlers with a helmsman, and an expert group of eight paddlers with a helmsman.

Rowing teams compete during the race.

After intense competition, the University of Cambridge won the men’s group of eight paddlers with a helmsman; Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School won the title of women’s group of eight paddlers with a helmsman; The University of Sydney won the mixed group of eight paddlers with a helmsman; Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School secured the championship at the expert group of eight paddlers with a helmsman.

Since the first edition in 2022, the Shenzhen X9 Alliance of Universities and Institutes (X9 Alliance) Rowing League Around X-Lake Sciensityhas become a calling card for the integration of sports and education, as well as science and education in Shenzhen, promoting exchanges and cooperation between alliance universities and institutes.