Sports economy thrives in Quzhou

People play football at a sports center in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/qz123.com]

Growing sports consumption has driven the rise of related industries in Quzhou.

Jiangshan, a county-level city of Quzhou known as the "hometown of Chinese white geese", has been focusing on the badminton industry for more than 40 years.

In 2022, the total output value of the city's sports industry reached 1.5 billion yuan ($208.95 million). Its annual production of shuttlecocks reached 240 million, accounting for 65 percent of the national shuttlecock market and more than 95 percent of the South Korean shuttlecock market.

With the approach of the Hangzhou Asian Games, demand for shuttlecocks is increasing, and the number of orders has increased by 30 percent over previous years, said Zhou Jianrong, general manager of Jiangshan Hangyu Culture and Sports Products Co Ltd.

A number of traditional sports manufacturing industries in the city have also experienced a boom in development.

For example, Mobi Garden Outdoor Products Co Ltd, located in Kecheng district, is a leading professional camping equipment company in China.

In 2022, the company's operating income exceeded 1.43 billion yuan, a year-on-year surge of 55.52 percent. In the first quarter of 2023, its operating income was 343 million yuan, a year-on-year uptick of 4.81 percent.

In addition, in the first half of the year, the city held a series of large-scale events such as the 2023 Men's Professional Football Invitational Tournament, the 2023 Street Basketball League, and the 2023 National Athletics Championships, spurring the development of the city's sports, culture, tourism, catering, accommodation and other industries.