YINCHUAN, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- On the last day of the eight-day National Day holiday, 62-year-old Gao Mei and 63-year-old Li Ying are playing badminton with a retired couple in a group of four in the Hubin gym of Yinchuan city, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, as the soles of their shows squeak on the wooden floor with each swift move.

"We play badminton here every day whenever we want during the holiday since it's free, but we have to get up early and reach here at 6:30 a.m. if we don't want to pay," Gao said, it's very convenient for them because they all live nearby. Though it's a little cold outside, the four all sweat profusely.

Gao and Li know each other due to their common interest to badminton. "We have a WeChat group of badminton lovers, and this hobby gives us not only strong bodies but also a lot of friends, or else it would be hard for a retired person to kill time," Gao said.

Usually, Hubin Gym provides free use of their facilities between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., after that citizens have to pay between 10 and 40 RMB for each hour depending on the facilities they use.

However, to celebrate the National Day, many gyms in Yinchuan have provided their facilities for free for citizens to use from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.. "We provide six badminton nets and four table tennis tables for citizens, and there are about 20 people coming here every day during the holiday," said Zhang Xiaojun, director of Yinchuan Sports Grounds Management Institute.

"The number of citizens exercising here is lower than usual during the holiday, because many people are traveling," Zhang said, but the venue has had several companies booking the whole space to organize group sports for their staff.

On a bench in Hubin gym, the 71-year-old Li seems to be waiting for someone while watching another couple playing table tennis. "I played table tennis with my grandson during the holiday, but he has gone travelling with his parents yesterday," Li said, so he comes here to wait someone to play with him.

Li began to play table tennis three years ago, but Hubin gym is usually not his first choice. "Now it's free, and the place is better than the outdoor one, so I come here every day during the holiday," Li said.

Besides Hubin Gym, many other stadiums and gyms in Yinchuan are also open free of charge or at low cost, which attracts sports fans to continue to exercise during the long holiday.

According to the local authority, most stadiums and gyms allow people to come in between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and provide a variety of sports and fitness equipment for free.

For those who come late and cannot enter for free, they can get the use of a table tennis table or a badminton court at a lower charge than usual.

China celebrates its National Day on October 1 each year. This year sees the Mid-Autumn Festival falling on the same day, overlapping with the week-long National Day holiday and thus extending the holiday to October 8, making eight days in total.