KUNMING, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- 2018 Colorful Yunnan International Granfondo Cycling Festival will be held in China's southwest Yunnan province from November 3 to 10.

The total length for courses is over 600 kilometers. More than 1,500 cyclists from 26 countries and regions have finished the registration, Yunnan Provincial Sports Bureau announced at media press Friday.

This November will be the 5th birthday of Granfondo Yunnan with a great change. It will come to western Yunnan, including Mangshi, Ruili and Tengchong. These three new cities will be three new courses with more colorful ethnic cultures and regional features. Meanwhile, Dali and Lijiang stages will still be preserved.

This Cycling Festival, which is often called Granfondo Yunnan for short, is a multi-day cycling race originating from Italy. It is personal challenge to complete the distance for each participant.

In the past four years, thousands of cyclists have visited Yunnan to join the race. The beautiful course and rich tourism resources in Yunnan have made the event more and more popular.