According to the Healthy China 2030 plan approved by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, by 2020, all people will be provided with basic fitness services and by 2030, a complete public fitness service system will come into being. To this end, cities are the core part of a healthy China.

For many years, cities, particularly metropolises, were short of fitness and sports grounds. The rising demand for fitness was stymied by the lack of sports grounds.

To address this conflict, the first thing is to expand sports grounds and provide more fitness facilities; then to make better use of the existing sports and fitness areas and facilities, more of which should be opened to the public free of charge or at a low price.

The good news is that now more and more cities are inputting in public fitness facilities. Schools playgrounds are open to the public, derelict places are being renovated and used for public fitness. These measures and the plan behind them will do public health good in the long run.

(This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in Oriental Outlook on October 17)