by sportswriter He Leijing

BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- For Wang Hong, a sports enthusiast from China's eastern city of Suzhou, the first month of 2024 has kept him on the go, as he has been wrapped up in mass sports events across the country.

"I've been running around on weekends, from local ice rinks and snow slopes to the sought-after ski resort in Harbin," said the 30-year-old, noting that he had also signed up for a marathon and was planning to watch football galas in Guizhou during the Spring Festival holiday.

For millions of Chinese sports fans like Wang, this winter may not be that cold, as they have been embracing 2024 with unprecedented passion. The big year for sports will usher in many blockbuster events, including the Paris Olympic Games, UEFA Euro 2024 and the Copa America.

"I am ready! I will surely watch the eye-catching games, but more importantly, I will welcome the Year of the Dragon with more exercise and fitness," Wang said.

"Sports have become part of our everyday life," he added.

EVERYBODY ADDS FUEL

Since the beginning of 2024, the most mentioned city in China has been Harbin, capital city of China's northernmost Heilongjiang Province, as it has been making a splash in the domestic tourism market.

Millions of tourists from southern regions where snow is a rarity are flocking to Harbin to take up winter sports. During the New Year holiday, the city received some 3.05 million tourists, raking in 5.91 billion yuan (821.5 million U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue. Both numbers represent record highs.

Relying on the development of mass winter sports, including launching more than 30 sports tourism products, like skiing and snowmobile activities and building advanced facilities, Harbin has been a cradle of Winter Olympic champions and will host the Asian Winter Games next year.

Mass efforts also contribute to forming brand sports events thousands of kilometers away in Rongjiang County of Guizhou Province, where the new Village Super League season kicked off on January 6, with the number of participating teams expanding from 20 to 62.

Featuring a festive atmosphere, the football gala became a sensation last year, with millions of visitors from around the world showing their passion for the sport. Earlier this year, the Village Super League was listed by the State General Administration of Sport as an outstanding example for mass sports tournaments in football, basketball and volleyball.

With a population of less than 400,000, Rongjiang now boasts 25 football fields and 41 county-level football schools.

And more Chinese sports enthusiasts are taking up outdoor sports. The 2024 Chongqing Marathon, scheduled for March 24, saw 100,000 applications in a single day. Only a fraction will be selected through a lucky draw to run the 42-kilometer distance.

It is the same case with many marathon events held in China nowadays. Data shows that 580 road running races were held nationwide last year, with a total of 5.5 million participants.

On the Chinese lifestyle-sharing platform Xiaohongshu, numerous daily posts share diverse experiences related to outdoor sports, ranging from high-intensity activities like sailing and cross-country to more laid-back ones such as camping and city walks.

As national fitness programs have been widely rolled out across China, various sports parks and facilities are popping up. By the end of 2022, the number of sports venues nationwide had increased to over 4.2 million, with the per capita sporting area reaching 2.62 square meters.

"The growing enthusiasm of Chinese people for sports activities reflects that they are paying more attention to physical and mental health," said Wang Xueli, a professor from Tsinghua University.

"And mass participation is absolutely fueling China's current sports boom," Wang said, adding that the next step is to improve the quality of sports activities and help more people exercise in the right way.

ON FIRE

The rapid development of sporting facilities and broad public participation has laid a solid foundation for China to become a sporting powerhouse.

The phenomenal boom of Harbin's winter tourism is partly a result of China's success in staging the Beijing Winter Olympics, which engaged 300 million people in winter sports.

Apart from drawing more people to winter sports, the legacy of the Winter Olympics also shines in the coordinated development of equipment manufacturing, facility operation and tourism. By 2022, the number of winter sports venues nationwide had grown to 2,452.

And the potential is still to be tapped, as China proposed that by the end of 2025, its total scale of winter sports industry will reach one trillion yuan.

The widespread popularity of outdoor sports also opens up unmissable business opportunities. In southwest China's Yunnan Province alone, more than 22 million people engage in outdoor-related sports once a week.

"In recent years, a variety of outdoor sports-related clubs have sprung up, such as hiking, mountaineering and cycling clubs, and these keep expanding rapidly," said Yang Zhonghua, an official with the local sports department.

According to an official action plan for promoting outdoor sports facilities construction and services, by the end of 2025, China is expected to see its total scale of the outdoor sports industry expand to three trillion yuan.

For many in the sports industry, the year 2024 represents a fresh start, as one decade ago, the Chinese government issued a far-reaching policy to develop the sports industry and promote sports consumption.

Official statistics show that the total scale of China's sports industry exceeded 3.3 trillion yuan in 2022, an increase of 143.2 percent over 2014.

From 2024 to the next few years, many much-anticipated sports competitions will be held in European and American countries, which is also a boon for Chinese sports brands to go global and reap benefits in overseas markets, said Zhu Botong, an expert from a global sports marketing company.

"Sports events and sports consumption have become a new engine for economic growth, and we should firmly grasp the opportunity in the big year for sports," said Gu Haoning, chairman of China National Sports Group, adding that he is optimistic about the upcoming Year of the Dragon.

"It must be a year full of hope, as the development of the sports industry and public health awareness are now closely connected," he added. Enditem

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