Lishui, where environment meets sports

A paddle boarding competition gets underway in Lishui. [Photo/Tide News]

The lovely city of Lishui, situated in East China's Zhejiang province, is known for its ecosystem, environment and natural beauty. But it is also becoming a hub for the development of sports and events, as it leverages its green appeal to build high-quality sports facilities.

In February this year, the Lishui Water Sports Center was completed. The project cost 676 million yuan ($98.27 million) and it has a total floor space of about 78,000 square meters. At night, the building projects a dazzling light show onto its facade and inside, it has a 400-meter indoor running track, badminton courts, basketball courts, swimming pools and more.

In addition to the water sports center, Lishui has also built the first sports exhibition hall in Zhejiang province and 72 other sports venues in recent years, such as cage soccer fields, fitness plazas and gyms. At present, the area of sports venues per capita has reached 2.82 square meters, making it convenient for residents to exercise near their homes.

With such great venues come great events. In November 2022, the National Rowing Championships were held at Nanming Lake in Lishui. This was the highest-level and largest-scale rowing competition ever held in China.

Furthermore, Lishui's ecological environment index has ranked it first in Zhejiang province for 19 consecutive years. Relying on its eco-friendly resources, Lishui has successfully hosted first-class events such as the National Sailing Model Championships and the National Canoeing Autumn Championships.

It has also built a network of greenways along the Oujiang River and put together and issued China's first county-level creek climbing group standards.

According to officials, the goal is for the city to become an all-weather, all-round, three-dimensional and borderless natural playground.