Fitness becomes a cornerstone of daily life in modern China

This aerial photo taken on May 8, 2023 shows a view of the stadium of the Zibo Sports Center in Zhangdian District of Zibo, east China's Shandong Province. Zibo, a city with over 3,000 years of history located in central Shandong Province, is uniquely made up of several districts that are about 20 kilometers from each other but well-connected with traffic lines.(Photo: Xinhua)

At around 7 pm, the road at the back of a stadium in central Beijing is teeming with cars, scooters and bicycles. This is the usual time for parents to pick up their children finishing ball games or athletic trainings during the summer break.

As the sweaty and tired children leave with their parents, more children, as well as adults, swarm in. The stadium closes at 10 pm.

Just a 15-minute walk from the stadium is a section of the historical moat, and people can be seen jogging and walking along the nearby riverside footpath, or flying their LED kites on a bridge.

This is an epitome of how fitness and sports are gaining increasing popularity in modern China as Tuesday marks the country's 15th National Fitness Day.

China believes that people's health is one of the most important indicators of modernization. The country has elevated nationwide fitness, making it a national strategy.

To satisfy people's fitness and training needs, sports-themed parks have been built wherever permitted.

By the end of 2022, there were 4.23 million sports facilities nationwide, covering an area of 3.7 billion square meters. 

More than 500 million people, or about 35 percent of the population, regularly engaged in physical exercises.

The city Hangzhou will also host the 19th Asian Games in September, where a total of 87 sites, either for competition or training during the event, are now accessible to the public.

China is moving to see that by 2025, a higher-level social service system for public fitness will be essentially established, with a per capita sports facility area of 2.6 square meters. 

Some 38.5 percent of the country's population will regularly participate in physical exercises.