by sportswriter He Leijing
BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) -- On a humid summer evening in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, dozens of young office workers race tirelessly across an 11-a-side football pitch at a neighborhood sports park.
Among them is Li Nuo, an employee at a major Chinese technology company. Until recently, he rarely played football. It was not the distant buzz surrounding the FIFA World Cup that rekindled his passion, but a homegrown phenomenon much closer to home.
Inspired by Jiangsu's wildly popular grassroots football competition, known as the Su Super League, Li now joins pickup games almost every week. "After sitting in front of a computer all day, I'd love to come here and kick a ball around," he said.
Scenes like this are unfolding across China, where sports are increasingly spilling beyond elite arenas and embedding themselves in neighborhoods, schools and workplaces.
As the country accelerates its push to become a sporting powerhouse by 2035, policymakers are weaving sports into a broader vision that links public health, economic vitality and quality of life, turning physical activity into an integral part of daily routines.
China's latest five-year development blueprint calls for expanding public fitness programs, increasing the supply of sports services and deepening the integration of sports with tourism, culture and healthcare.
FROM NATIONAL CAMPAIGNS TO DAILY HABITS
The transformation is visible in Jiangsu, where the Su Super League, featuring teams from the province's 13 cities, has become a sporting sensation. Most of its players are not professionals, but teachers, students, mechanics and office workers.
The excitement has spread far beyond stadiums. Outdoor screens draw cheering crowds, social media platforms buzz with jokes and city rivalries, and football pitches across urban and rural communities are packed with amateur players eager to join in.
Such government-led fitness campaigns are evolving into lifestyle movements. Smart watches and fitness bands that track heart rates and exercise performance have become ubiquitous, while marathons and trail-running events have surged in popularity.
At Wuxi Sports Park, more than 100 runners circle the track every evening. Nearly 60 belong to DC Running Club, the city's largest running community, preparing for marathon season. "Five years ago, we had fewer than 100 members," said club founder Jiang Wenhao. "Now we have more than 1,000."
Marathons have become one of China's hottest social events, with spots for races in major cities often snapped up within minutes.
For longtime participant Zhang Aiping, running has been life-changing. "Four years ago, I was overweight and suffered from fatty liver disease and insomnia," Zhang said. "I started running regularly, exercising more than 10 days every month. My health indicators have improved significantly, and my mindset has become much better."
The government is also experimenting with creative ways to encourage healthier lifestyles.
As 2026 marks the final year of China's three-year weight management campaign, local governments have launched playful contests with names such as "Trade Your Fat for Beef" and "Trade Your Fat for Potatoes," rewarding residents who successfully lose weight.
Meanwhile, cities are redesigning urban landscapes to make exercise more accessible.
In Wuxi, a 6.4-hectare area beneath elevated highways that once sat idle has been transformed into one of the city's largest recreational spaces, complete with basketball courts, skateboarding zones, jogging tracks and playgrounds.
"It only takes three minutes to walk here from my home," resident Jin Heping said. "Children can play here, and older people can dance, exercise or play table tennis. It's very convenient."
Similar projects are spreading nationwide. By the end of 2025, China had more than five million sports venues, while per capita sports space reached 3.11 square meters. Community "15-minute fitness circles," allowing residents to reach sports facilities within a short walk from home, have become a key policy priority.
Shanghai is tailoring services to different age groups. The city plans to open at least 50 public night fitness schools this year, offering classes ranging from yoga and Pilates to tai chi and table tennis. Many courses are fully booked shortly after registration opens.
The country's approach to fitness is also becoming more scientific. "Chinese people are shifting from exercising more to exercising smarter," said Zheng Jiakun, a professor at Shanghai University of Sport.
"The public is moving from simply following exercise routines to understanding why they exercise, how they should exercise and how to sustain healthy habits," Zheng said.
The trend is reinforced by a growing network of more than 3.9 million certified social sports instructors nationwide, while fitness guidance is increasingly delivered through apps, livestreams and community programs.
Sports and healthcare are also becoming more intertwined. More than 5,500 medical institutions have established weight management clinics, and Jiangsu alone has built more than 200 exercise-based health service centers, benefiting more than 100,000 people annually.
BUILDING A BROADER PIPELINE FOR CHAMPIONS
China's investment in grassroots participation is also shaping elite sports, as a large population of amateur athletes creates a broad talent pool.
At the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics earlier this year, China collected five gold, four silver and six bronze medals, delivering its best Winter Olympic performance outside home soil.
Among the standout performers was speed skater Ning Zhongyan, who defeated American star Jordan Stolz to win the men's 1,500 meters, ending more than a century of European and North American dominance in the event.
After crossing the finish line, the 26-year-old broke down in tears. "After climbing over the mountain, the view is magnificent," Ning said.
The performance reflected broader progress. China secured 49 top-eight finishes, a 32.4-percent increase from Beijing 2022, with several disciplines evolving from merely participating to genuinely contending for medals.
Momentum had already been building at Paris 2024, where China collected 40 gold, 27 silver and 24 bronze medals to produce its best-ever Summer Olympic performance abroad.
Swimmer Pan Zhanle shattered the men's 100-meter freestyle world record. China won its first-ever Olympic gold in the men's 4x100-meter medley relay, ending a four-decade American monopoly, while Zheng Qinwen captured the country's first Olympic singles tennis title.
Chinese athletes are also breaking new ground in emerging disciplines.
Snooker player Wu Yize became the second-youngest world champion in tournament history, Formula One welcomed Zhou Guanyu as China's first full-time driver, and speed climber Zhao Yicheng set a world record.
Behind these breakthroughs lies an increasingly sophisticated support system.
Wind tunnels simulate race conditions for winter athletes, while artificial intelligence helps divers analyze aerial movements frame by frame. Meanwhile, local governments are investing heavily in youth development.
Shanghai has built a three-pronged training system linking sports schools, regular schools and private clubs. The city has registered 62,000 youth athletes and more than 3,000 youth coaches.
"More international youth competitions are being held in China, allowing local players to compete against teams from Europe and the United States," said Xu Bin, an official with the Shanghai Sports Bureau. "This helps improve their level and strengthen the talent pipeline."
Local governments are also prioritizing football, basketball and volleyball, often seen as indicators of a country's overall sporting strength. Jiangsu plans to complete football training centers in all 13 of its cities by 2027, while other provinces are launching similar programs.
Last year's National Games, co-hosted for the first time by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, further underscored China's efforts to broaden participation.
"The National Games, with 25,000 athletes across so many age groups, are unique and create a great sense of unity," International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said. "China is a real powerhouse in international sport."
TURNING SPORTING PASSION INTO ECONOMIC MOMENTUM
China's sporting ambitions are also boosting its economy. Officials expect the country's sports industry to exceed seven trillion yuan (about 1,032 billion U.S. dollars) by 2030, supported by new forms of consumption.
Even at the FIFA World Cup, where China's national team remains absent, another Chinese contingent has already arrived. From whistles, horns and souvenirs to jerseys, equipment and giant LED displays, Chinese-made products are omnipresent throughout the global tournament.
The economic dividends stretch across more than a dozen provinces. In Yiwu, a major export hub in Zhejiang Province, exports of sporting goods and equipment exceeded 11.6 billion yuan in 2025, up 20.3 percent year on year, while double-digit growth continued into the first quarter of 2026.
Another major growth engine is event-driven tourism.
The Su Super League offers a glimpse of that potential. The competition attracted more than 2.43 million spectators in 2025. Nearly 96 percent of spectators spent money beyond their tickets, generating a surge in tourism and retail spending.
"A football match can ignite an entire city," said Xu Shixiao, an athlete from Jiangxi Province, whose hometown has launched its own regional football league. "People watch the match, then visit night markets, eat crayfish and stay in hotels. The flow of spectators turns into real consumption," Xu said.
Technology is also opening a new frontier. At primary schools in Nanjing, AI-powered sports screens evaluate students' movements, track performance data and generate personalized fitness profiles. Students from different schools can even compete against one another in real time.
Across China, artificial intelligence is rapidly merging with sports, from smart fitness equipment and robot coaches to AI-powered treadmills capable of generating customized training plans.
Meanwhile, China is betting on emerging sports. Pickleball, which blends elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis, is evolving from a niche pastime into a fast-growing industry.
In Hebi, central China's Henan Province, companies are building a complete industrial chain covering equipment manufacturing, event operations and skills training.
"Our local rubber and plastics industry gives us a major advantage," said Zhang Wei, general manager of a sporting goods company whose products are exported to the United States, Canada and Vietnam.
Zhang said that the company is now developing smart pickleball equipment that can connect seamlessly with mobile phones and wearable devices.
Industry forecasts show China's pickleball market could exceed 1.8 billion yuan in 2025, with annual growth averaging 47 percent over the next five years.
The sport is also becoming a new vehicle for tourism. In Jiangxi, a local county has invested more than 20 million yuan in an ecological pickleball center, built more than 300 courts and introduced the sport into school curriculums. In Dongying, Shandong Province, organizers have combined pickleball tournaments with Yellow River tours and local cuisine.
"China's sports industry is shifting from traditional manufacturing toward modern services, with consumer spending becoming the core growth driver," said Liu Lewen, a sports industry researcher. Enditem
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