The Physical Health Law of the People's Republic of China was
adopted in 1995. In the same year, the State Council promulgated
the Outline of Nationwide Physical Fitness Program, followed by a
series of rules and regulations. A survey released by the State
Physical Culture Administration indicates that at present 33.9
percent of the population between 7 and 70 exercise regularly and
60.7 percent of the urban population go to sports clubs to engage
in fitness activities. It is expected that by the end of 2005, 37
percent of China's total population will participate in regular
physical exercises, and that over 95 percent of students will meet
the National Physical Exercise Standard.? Aiming to improve
the health and the overall physical condition of the general
population, the Nationwide Physical Fitness Program, with an
emphasis on young people and children, encourages everyone to
engage in at least one sporting activity every day, learn at least
two ways of keeping fit and have a health examination every
year.?
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In this 15-year-long program, the government aims to build a sport
and health-building service system for the general public. There
are about 620,000 gymnasiums and stadiums across China, most of
them open to and widely used by the general public. Outdoor fitness
centers have been installed in urban communities in public parks,
squares, schoolyards, and other convenient locations. All
communities and neighborhoods in Beijing are equipped with fitness
facilities that meet the national standard. Building on what it
already had, Tianjin has instituted large-scale expansion of its
outdoor and indoor fitness facilities and stadiums. 2004 saw the
completion of China's first large fitness arena with a floor area
in excess of 10,000 sq m.?
Starting in 2001, the State Physical Culture Administration has
set aside the proceeds of the sports lottery as pilot funds, in
order to build "China Sports Lottery Nationwide Physical Fitness
Centers" as pilot projects in 31 large and medium-sized cities
throughout the country, including Dalian, Beijing and Changchun.
Some of these centers have already been built. Meanwhile, some 196
million yuan of sports lottery proceeds were used to construct
public sporting facilities in China's less-developed western areas
and in the Three Gorges region of the Yangtze River, benefiting 101
counties and towns.
With the flourishing of nationwide fitness activities, people's
outlook on life has also undergone great change. In many large and
medium-sized cities, spending money in the pursuit of good health
has become trendy. New types of sport, including rock climbing,
horsemanship, bungee jumping, bowling, skateboarding, women's
boxing, shuffleboard, taekwondo and golf are particularly popular
among young people. At the end of 2003, work was started on China's
first snow golf course in A'er Mountain, Inner Mongolia. This
project, representing an investment of about 1 billion yuan, will
be the sixth snow golf course in the world.
The Nationwide Physical Fitness Program has set targets that, by
2010, about 40 percent of China's population will participate in
regular physical exercise, there will be a clear improvement in the
national physique and a major increase in the number of fitness
sites so as to satisfy people's needs for keeping fit.