More than 16,000 hiking enthusiasts took part in a hiking event around the Taihu Lake in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on April 26.

The 4th 'Around Taihu Lake Hiking Event' kicked off near Wuxi Grand Theater at 8 am on April 26, the Wuxi Daily reported.

As the first event of the 2015 Wuxi Netizen Public Welfare Sports Meeting series, this year's 'walkabout' attracted local residents as well as hiking enthusiasts from surrounding cities and provinces such as Shanghai, Suzhou and Anhui.

The event had three categories; a 9-km experience hike, a 30-km standard hike and a 50-km challenge hike. Regardless of their choice, participants were able to enjoy the beautiful lakeside scenery on every route.

Jointly hosted by the city's publicity department, sports bureau and the Internet association, the 2015 Wuxi Netizen Public Welfare Sports Meeting series will organize 11 more events over the next eight months, such as swimming, mountain-climbing, cycling and ball games.

Over 16,000 hikers take part in the "Around-Taihu Lake Hiking Event". [Photo/asianewsphoto]

Li Xiaomin, the Party chief of Wuxi, announces the opening of the event with a starting gunshot. [Photo/wxrb.com]