China to build 300km of fitness paths for each county

On March 16, the General Administration of Sport of China (GASC) released a plan revealing that by 2020, the country plans to build up to 300km fitness paths for each county  (municipality/district) in China.

Expected to be built based on different environments such as a riverside, countryside and forests, the paths may be used for mountain sports, jogging and brisk walking. Under this plan, local governments would set up supporting rest and service areas in accordance with specific roads and tourist attractions.

The plan specifies the financing model for future work, which is coordinating the existing financial sources, social capitals as well as other infrastructure projects like transportation, agriculture, forestry and water conservancy.

The plan also suggests that a fitness path should be built for different sports such as cycling and orienteering. It should be beneficial to the construction of aviation flight camps, driving camps, sports leisure towns, beautiful village projects, besides making it convenient for tourism, poverty alleviation and increasing income.

For example, by the end of 2018, Chengdu City of Sichuan Province is expecting to build 1600km green paths, aiming to turn itself into a sponge city with functions in ecosystem construction, leisure tourism, fitness sports, culture promotion, non-motorized traffic, agricultural landscape and emergency sheltering.

Source: NetEase

Proofread by William Logsdon