Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 10 th Question: Is there any place to accommodate the fitness fever suppressed by the epidemic?
— — One of the series of national fitness surveys
Xinhua news agency reporter
After more than three months, Cui Ke, who lives in Beijing, finally played a ball.
"I’m exhausted," said Cui Ke, 42. However, speaking of his own assists, I can feel his pride and satisfaction through the phone. "I still prefer outdoor exercise, but I can’t display it at home, and I am always afraid of disturbing my neighbors."
The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has made people retreat from outdoor to indoor. Many people, like Cui Ke, follow the online tutorial to exercise at home every day, but deep down they still miss the comfort and carefree of calling friends and sharing sweat under the sunshine and breeze.
With the relief of the epidemic, outdoor fitness facilities that have been cold for a long time are gradually becoming more and more lively, and the contradiction between supply and demand of outdoor fitness facilities that was temporarily covered up by the order of staying at home will reappear. This epidemic situation makes people feel the importance of health, fitness and immunity more and more. Obviously, after the epidemic situation, people will put forward higher requirements for the quantity and quality of fitness places. Before and after the epidemic, Xinhua News Agency reporters conducted in-depth research in Shanghai, Tianjin, Suzhou and other places, and also referred to some foreign experiences in developing mass sports, hoping to promote the better development of national fitness.
Epidemic surprise stimulates home fitness fever
In the leisure time at home, more and more people put down their mobile phones, take a step and join the army of sweat for health. The 25-year-old Shen Yutao is such a "fitness newcomer" who cultivated exercise habits from scratch after the epidemic.
"Before, because of the tight work rhythm, long-term sedentary and irregular diet, I gradually felt that my figure was out of shape, and my physique was gradually declining, which made me easy to get sick," said Shen Yutao, who is engaged in consulting industry.
After working at home during the epidemic period, Shen Yutao started his own fitness plan, taking regular exercise with reference to the tutorials on fitness software, and taking a rest every two days.
"By persisting in exercise, my physical condition has obviously improved, and persistent completion of the set goals is also an improvement to my personal spiritual level." Shen Yutao said that after the epidemic, he plans to start running and fitness.
According to the data provided by the fitness software Keep, during the epidemic, the average duration of user exercise was 36.2 minutes each time, nearly doubling compared with 2019. The cumulative coverage of sports live broadcasts launched by Keep in conjunction with many institutions and fitness experts exceeded 56.5 million.
Li Xinyan, general manager of Keep, said that in the short term, there may be large-scale "fresh air" behavior after the epidemic. Everyone has been at home for a long time and wants to go out and move. People’s demand for home sports will decrease, but the demand for outdoor sports will increase. But in the long run, people’s online exercise habits will continue during the epidemic, and regular exercise will be the norm.
Zhong Bingshu, president of the Capital Institute of Physical Education, also said that the sudden epidemic has given people a vivid lesson, and the change of health awareness will inevitably bring about an increase in fitness demand. However, he also said that home fitness is a special state that has to be done during the epidemic. On the one hand, the area available for fitness exercise in the home is very limited; On the other hand, participating in fitness activities is also one of the important means of interpersonal communication, which cannot be achieved by home exercise. Therefore, outdoor fitness and gym fitness will remain the mainstream after the epidemic, and home exercise can only be a supplement to people’s fitness methods.
Docking the "last mile"
Being at home is a special state during the epidemic. It is also in this special environment that office workers like Shen Yutao get regular fitness conditions. After the epidemic is over, people’s life rhythm will become faster again, and their free time will be reduced. The adherence to fitness habits needs to be supported by convenient venues and facilities.
At the end of 2019, Xinhua News Agency reporters found in various places that many cities are making use of various "Jinjiao Silver Borders" in the core areas of cities to build fitness facilities, connecting the "last mile" of fitness venues and providing convenience for people’s fitness. This is also emphasized and advocated by many documents of the State Council.
Suzhou Shishan Hengtang Street Recreation and Sports Badminton Center, which has 14 badminton courts and 5 table tennis courts, was converted from a former factory building. The center is located in the core area of Suzhou High-tech Zone, but the street clearly defines the service purpose of "giving priority to public welfare" to benefit the people. From 7: 00 to 9: 00 in the morning, it is open at the low price of 5 yuan per person, and the opening price at other time periods is also lower than the market price. The street also holds regular table tennis and badminton events based on the venue to increase the sense of participation and gain of the fitness crowd.
"After the factory is recovered, it will become idle assets. What we have to do is to integrate idle assets and solve the problem of where people go to exercise." Liu Lan, stationmaster of Hengtang Street Cultural and Sports Station in Shishan, said, "The operation effect is still very good. People in the basic nearby areas will come here, and the venue is often full."
Despite the cold winter, Qujiang Park in Tianjin is still very lively. The ball field is full of fitness people, and the fitness equipment room is also full of laughter.
Qujiang Park was originally an ordinary city park, but after the transformation in 2018, except for squares, green spaces and trails, all kinds of fitness venues and equipment in the park are already full. According to Lou Yueguang, deputy director of the Sports Bureau of Hexi District, Tianjin, it is difficult to build a fitness center in the community because there are many old residential areas nearby, so transforming the park is the most feasible scheme. When the government invested in the renovation, various sports venues and facilities were added to meet the diverse fitness needs of the surrounding residents.
Under the viaduct along Fuxing River in Hexi District, the cage basketball court between piers has become a small world for basketball lovers. The basketball court covers a small area, but it is a perfect use of space, which does not hinder traffic and can shelter from rain and snow.
According to Wang Bing, president of Hebei Yonghuai National Fitness and National Health Development Research Institute, the fitness venues around these people are the best embodiment of the people-centered concept of national fitness work. Wang Bing believes that the construction of fitness facilities should pay attention to demand investigation, and the concept should be changed from "what I want to provide" to "what the people need" according to the principle of "according to the need, time and place".
Create a fitness online celebrity according to local conditions
By the Huangpu River, the morning light outlines the city’s skyline. On the riverside trail, in addition to tourists who take pictures, there are runners who try to adjust their breathing. Seizing the opportunity of Shanghai to promote the cross-strait connection of Huangpu River and the transformation of riverside coastline, Shanghai Sports Bureau took the lead in transforming the abandoned factory buildings in Yangpu District into public sports centers. Fitness trails, basketball courts and skateboarding venues & HELIP; … More than 20 sports venues scattered along the river have revitalized the once ruined industrial remains.
There are light stadiums that can be scanned at any time, fitness stations that provide free direct drinking water and change clothes and storage functions, rest areas equipped with defibrillators and professional emergency personnel, and artistic spaces and landmark landscapes for the transformation of industrial remains. The river breeze blows gently, the lights flash, history and fashion meet, and the fitness venue blends with the scenic spots in online celebrity. In the words of Zhao Guangsheng, deputy director of Shanghai Sports Bureau, "the industrial rust belt of the past has become the life show belt of today".
Also welcoming the "gorgeous turn" is the old railway around the city in Tianjin. The abandoned railway section in Hexi District has been transformed into a greenway park, and the original rail line has been transformed into a fitness trail nearly 5 kilometers long.
"There was no place to go (exercise) when there was no trail. Now I come here two or three times a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon in winter, and I also go out for a walk in the summer evening, "said Uncle Cui, who lives in a nearby neighborhood. Because it is next to a residential area, people come and go on the trail, which is very lively.
Greenway Park retains the theme style of the railway, and the landscape design of platforms, bus stops and tracks makes people vaguely feel the elegance of the railway around the city in the past, which makes this fitness center reflect some cultural and historical details. Fitness venues and recreational facilities suitable for people of different ages have turned this once freight artery into a new urban landscape that gathers popularity.
Wang Hong, deputy secretary of the Party Group of Tianjin Sports Bureau, said that the transformation of the ring railway in other areas of Tianjin will continue in the future, and the ultimate goal is to build a fitness greenway circle integrating fitness, leisure and sightseeing functions on the basis of the old railway, making it a "city necklace" of Tianjin.
Suzhou’s fitness trail around the ancient city river is 16 kilometers long, which is an important part of China’s Grand Canal cultural belt, a world cultural heritage, and also a livelihood project for citizens to relax and exercise and tourists to experience Soviet-style life.
Along the trail, a physical fitness test and exercise guidance station, a fitness Little Square and a fitness path are set up, so that people born by the water can move according to the water and enjoy being near the water. On the sports culture billboards erected at intervals, you can hear Wu Nong’s nursery rhymes with the theme of sports games as long as you scan the code on your mobile phone, so that pedestrians can appreciate the Millennium culture of Wudi.
For a long time, the construction of fitness venues in China has lagged behind. Inadequate venue facilities and unreasonable distribution have become a short board that restricts the development of national fitness. However, the practices in Shanghai, Tianjin and Suzhou show that grounded and popular fitness venues can not only be integrated into the blueprint of urban development, but also become a bright color to highlight the cultural features of the city, so that people can enjoy it and make the city beautiful. (Note writers Wang Meng and Wu Junkuan, participating reporters: Xu Jiren, Zhu Yi, Wang Hengzhi, Zhang Zewei, Wang Haoyu, Niu Mengtong, Lin Deren, Zhang Wei and Wang Jiyu)