Country cites Zhuhai for making it easy to stay fit

The General Administration of Sports of China announced on Aug 28 that the Zhuhai Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau and All Sports Federation, Qianshan Sub-district Office in Xiangzhou District, and Doumen Sports Bureau have been selected as National Advanced Units in Mass Sports Participation (2013-16).

Singled out for recognition are Pi Xiaojun, head of the Mass Sports Department of the municipal Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau; Zhang Zhuanghuan, director of the Office of Sports Development of the Xiangzhou Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau; and Su Jinling, director general of the Jinwan Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau.

The honors signify high-level endorsement of Zhuhai's extensive endeavors to popularize mass sports over the past few years, said a government official.

The undertaking has been high on the work agenda of the municipal Party committee and government, and was included in the city's national economic and social development plans and government work reports.

Martial arts practice in Zhuhai [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

Vigorously promoting athletics for all with the goal of becoming a strong sports city, Zhuhai fulfilled four indicators for national fitness public service during the 13th Five-Year Plan Period (2016-20). Full coverage of grassroots-level physical fitness facilities has been achieved, with the area devoted to sports venues exceeding 2.5 sq m on a per capita basis.

Urban dwellers can access sport and fitness facilities within 10 minutes from their homes, and rural residents live no more than 5 km away from public sports venues.

At present, public sports venues and facilities at city, district, town, sub-district, community, and village levels have formed a comprehensive fitness network of different scales. In fact, Zhuhai leads the country in constructing community sports parks.

At the same time, efforts have been intensifying to maximize the utilization of public sports venues and facilities in favor of residents. Those at the municipal level must charge zero or low entrance fees, while all the other community sports parks, and equipment units in villages, towns, and sub-districts must be freely available.

In addition, Zhuhai has institutionalized the Fitness Sports Meet, held annually since 2015, creating a civic competition with a variety of events for all ages.