It was the second time Kimmel visited Yading.

"I'm very glad that I could be back on the Yading tracks," she says.

Kimmel topped the women's 32-km race with a time of three hours, 52 minutes and 40 seconds.

The race was an upgrade from the 29-km run held in previous years and took runners from 2,800 meters above sea level to 4,700 meters.

Participants had to run through sprawling mountains and forests toward the mountain peak, as if reaching for the sky.

Chinese contestant Jiaer Renjia won the first prize in the men's category, with a time of three hours, 12 minutes and 21 seconds.

A 10-km hike, a 7-km vertical climb and 53-km race were also held.

The event is part of Yading's efforts to attract more visitors.

The local authority has continued to upgrade tourism services and infrastructure to improve travelers' experiences.

Trees and flowers have been planted across mountains and on the roadside. And efforts have also been made to tap into the local village culture. Also, toilet facilities have been improved.

So far, e-commerce, ticketing and monitoring systems are in place to better manage operations at the resort.

The goal is to make things easier for visitors and avoid environmental pollution, according to the Yading scenic spot administration.

Growing tourism has also brought benefits to the locals.

A total of 53.25 million yuan out of the ticket profits have been given to more than 9,000 local farmers since 2008. And jobs have been created to cater to the needs of the growing traveler army.

About one-third of the local population is directly involved in the tourism industry, according to the local government.

yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn