Cities offer more exercise spaces to meet demand

City dwellers no longer need to search for long to find a place to exercise, as the nation's sports industry boom is prompting urban planning to evolve to suit citizens' growing demand for fitness and exercise spaces.

Channel Five Sports Space, the first comprehensive public sports venue in Beijing, was launched on Aug 4. As a response to the nation's scientific health and fitness strategy, called Healthy China 2030, the Sports Space was established to integrate digital and physical resources for the public.

"We are aiming to build the Yelp of the sports industry," said Hong Ping, president of ZhongShiLiangZhong (Beijing) Cultural Media Co Ltd, the company responsible for operating the Sports Space.

"We are building a public sports service platform, integrating online and offline resources in all fields in the sports industry."

In the 5,000-square-meter Sports Space, both young and old alike are able to enjoy a wide variety of activities, including table tennis, wrestling, taekwondo and aikido.

LeFit, a new concept gym chain startup, was among the first fitness brands to open an outlet within the new venue.

According to statistics from the General Administration of Sport, China currently only has 1.5 square meters of sports-dedicated space per capita, while the United States has 16 square meters.

Most sports stadiums in China are owned by the government or schools. Sports areas open to the nation's sports, education and military sectors account for over 60 percent of the total, of which only 29.2 percent is accessible to the public.

He Wenyi, executive director of Peking University's China Institute for Sports Value, said the central authorities' guideline issued in 2014 to promote the development of the sports industry has not yet been fully implemented.

"The nation's public sports sector is in its infancy, but the potential is huge. Urban areas need to provide more facilities to boost participation in sports and satisfy the public's diverse needs and preferences," He said.

"We hope Sports Space's business model can be applied to other regions in China. In the future, we may tap into this model further, such as building sports leisure towns and sports amusement parks," he said.

According to ZhongShiLiangZhong, the company plans to open more Sports Spaces in other cities, including Shanghai, Tianjin and Xi'an in Shaanxi province. Its final goal is to establish more than 1,000 such spaces across over 100 cities in China.