The 2026 Chaigutangsi Kuocang Trail Race will take place from October 30 to November 1, featuring three categories (105K/50K/25K).

Before the race, another major announcement arrived: long-term partner Salomon officially confirmed the second phase of this year’s Lighthouse Program — a move that represents genuine, cash-backed support.

Under the Lighthouse Program this year the prize money for the 105K and 50K will be doubled. That means the 105K winner will receive an extra ¥65,000 on top of the organizing committee’s ¥65,000, bringing the single-race winner’s total to ¥130,000 — surpassing the recently set ¥120,000 single-race winner prize at the Ninghai Trail Challenge.

Even on a global scale, Chaigu Tangsi’s single-race winner prize should rank only behind UTMB Mont-Blanc, Broken Arrow Skyrace and Run Rabbit Run 100.

At the same time, this year Chaigu Tangsi has expanded its prize distribution: the 105K now pays down to 10th place (up from the top eight last year), and the 50K now pays to 8th (up from the top six). The total prize pool has risen to ¥1.2 million, making it one of the few single-event races in China with a million-yuan scale.

With such prize incentives, this year’s Chaigu Tangsi is sure to be explosive. Last year Salomon’s Varvara Shikanova, 张火话 (Zhang Huohua) and 范邦林 (Fan Banglin) took the three titles — can they defend their crowns this year and walk away with the huge payouts?