We already knew that the Chinese love to do things on a grand scale, the stories that had reached us were more than exhaustive, but once we arrived here we realized that reality exceeded our expectations. The Tour of Magnificent Qinghai is not just a race but a 360-degree cultural event, an opportunity to build community but above all to showcase itself to the world. The actual race will only begin tomorrow, but from the opening ceremony onwards we witnessed something that in Italy is anything but common.

The location chosen for the opening ceremony is no accident. All the public, athletes, and staff were gathered in the covered arena of the city of Xining, which in itself is a masterpiece. In Italy it could be compared to the Assago Forum, but even more modern and glittering, perhaps a bit smaller but equally suited for sports and entertainment. The organization is that of major events, with cameras, security, and staff to manage the public—they have been working for weeks to put together this show. The enthusiasm is sky-high and accompanies the presentation of the teams that will battle it out on the roads starting tomorrow. The XDS Astana team kicks off a long parade in which riders from 12 nations, including Italy, showcase themselves to fans and curious onlookers. There is applause for everyone, but as soon as the local team appears, the crowd explodes completely. But this is just the beginning.

If we were to compare this opening ceremony with something we've seen in our country, we would have to invoke the recent Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, certainly a miniature version, but the substance is the same. The Qinghai administration sees the race not only in its sporting aspect but as a unique opportunity to make itself known and to tell its own story. A giant Chinese flag parades by, while the public, hand on chest, sings the national anthem, and the games can begin. The great stage transforms into a meadow, then into a mountain path, into rocky terrain and then into a busy street of a great city—these are the many souls of the region that will host us for this journey. Hundreds of dancers perform in colorful costumes and tell us their story. The songs and writings are incomprehensible to us, but it is enough to watch to understand the souls of a beautiful region. There are rivers, mountains, cities on the plateaus and small communities in the mountains, traditional clothes among millennia-old rocks that hold a thousand legends, there are many ethnicities, all different but united by the same conviction: being part of the same family. The spectacle is amazing, involving singers, performers, many local schools and even musical robots, it is something grand but with an explanation behind it. For the Qinghai region it represents an investment; in this beautiful but logistically complicated region, the race is the opportunity to showcase itself, to show the government what they are capable of doing and therefore how money could be spent. As a local girl explains to us, life in the mountains is complicated, there are still populations with a centuries-old history and the government is doing everything to preserve them. Cameras are everywhere ready to capture every smile, every small part of this special event. Behind the appearance of dances and songs beats the heart for one's places of origin, the pride of being part of a community, but also the desire to know others.

Members of the organization and local media compete to ask us our opinion on what we have seen, but we can only show our amazement. What seems so extraordinary to us appears instead quite normal to the Qinghai population; it is their way of presenting themselves and they are extremely proud of it. Cycling has nothing to do with it; for them every sport must have equal dignity, every cultural event must be celebrated with determination fighting for one's roots but also not denying a look toward the future. What strikes us is their pride, the pride in their culture that goes beyond glitter and light shows, the desire to celebrate what one possesses always with a smile. It is a spectacle that is not just what we see on stage, it is a special journey that reminds us of something we perhaps often forget: we should be more proud of what we are and try to give cycling the space it deserves.