Sports parks gain popularity among Chinese people as urban centers expand green spaces for physical activity

Wang Tao, a fitness enthusiast who lives in Beijing’s Fengtai district, used to do workouts at gyms. Now he prefers to do physical exercises at the Fangzhuang Sports Park, one of several sports parks that are easily accessible inside the city.

Children play on a seesaw at the Fangzhuang Sports Park in Fengtai district, Beijing. (Guangming Daily/Liu Kun)

“The park is equipped with outdoor basketball courts and other sports facilities. I can do exercise to my heart’s content at the park while enjoying its beautiful scenery and breathing the fresh air,” Wang said.

The sports park is now a perfect place for jogging and other sports and serves as an ideal place for outdoor activities for both children and the elderly.

Like Wang, more and more people across China have ventured out of their homes and taken up exercise at sports parks, which has inspired them to keep in touch with nature outdoors. Sports parks have become hotspots where people can always be seen taking photos and sharing them on social medial platforms.

Sports parks, which are built in open and natural spaces, are playing a more active role in helping people to keep physically and mentally fit, said Wang Zhaohong, deputy head of the College of P.E. and Sports under Beijing Normal University.

Over the past few years, the number of sports parks across China has grown significantly. East China’s Zhejiang Province has opened 288 sports parks, among which 36.8 percent are so-called mini sports parks that were transformed from undeveloped urban green areas and vacant lots. Some sports parks are equipped with smart fitness facilities, which helps people to enjoy exercise in a healthier way.

Children move a goal post at a sports park in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong province. (Photo/Xinhua)

The building of sports parks has been welcomed by the public and has promoted “10-minute fitness circles” in urban communities, providing physical exercise facilities that residents can reach within 10 minutes, according to Xu Jie, an official with the Zhejiang provincial sports bureau.

Zhejiang is just one example of China’s efforts to build sports parks to promote fitness activities among residents.

The country will build or expand roughly 1,000 sports parks nationwide by 2025, said a recent guideline issued by relevant ministries, including the National Development and Reform Commission and the General Administration of Sport of China (GASC).

A local resident does long jump at a sports park in Jiading district, Shanghai. (Photo/Xinhua)

According to the guideline, administrative regions with permanent populations of more than 500,000, between 300,000 and 500,000, and less than 300,000 are encouraged to build sports parks with a total area of at least 100,000 square meters, 60,000 square meters and 40,000 square meters, respectively.

The guideline also specifies that no less than 65 percent of the land area of the sports parks should be vegetated, and the building of these parks must not cross China’s ecological red lines or do harm to ecosystems.

Qiu Ru, deputy director of the mass sports department of the GASC, said the administration aims to support sports parks across the country in opening to the public for free or at low fees while supporting local sports bureaus in holding Fitness-for-All activities at sports parks, so as to make the venues more popular among people.

Citizens do morning exercise at a sports park in southwest China’s Chongqing municipality. (Photo/Xinhua)