Yuan Xinyao is a pretty 20-something and an outdoor sports enthusiast. Three years ago, Yuan took to such sports as rock climbing, skating, boating, trekking and paragliding.

"Outdoor sports offer opportunities for travel and for fresh, exciting adventures," said Yuan. Later, when she discovered that many others shared her interest, Yuan set up an outdoors club and opened an outdoors equipment shop. " I meant to promote a healthy lifestyle by bringing people close to nature and helping them make more friends through my club, but never expected to make so much money."

Although outdoor sporting activities for big companies are a major source of profits for Yuan's club, her equipment store is even more profitable. In the beginning, it only sold sportswear and occupied a small room. Now, its business area has expanded to 200 square meters.

Yuan is thrilled to find that her hobby has turned out to be so lucrative. "What a miracle,'' she gushes.

No longer high-brow

Sports such as rock climbing or skiing were limited to the white-collar class till just a few years ago. But they are now becoming increasingly popular with ordinary folk.

The rising popularity of outdoor sports can be attributed to rising incomes, more leisure time and growing familiarity with global trends, according to industry insiders. Outdoor sports also help ease the pressures brought on by heavy workloads and fierce competition. Challenges posed by such sports are particularly appealing to the young.

In developed countries, sightseeing accounts for only 30 percent of the tourist market with the rest being contributed by leisure and outdoor sports. In moderately developed countries, this ratio is about 2:1.

Given its huge population, China is believed to enjoy great opportunities to expand its outdoor sports industry.

Huge potential

With more Chinese getting hooked on outdoor sports, the sporting equipment industry is expected to rake in hundreds of billions in profits.

Outdoor sports equipment, like special shoes, skis, sleeping bags, tents and various measuring instruments, is now fuelling an industry with an estimated annual output value of 1 billion yuan and annual growth of 30 percent. This is reflected in the recent boom in outdoor equipment manufacturing in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Fujian provinces and Shanghai.

Official statistics show China's outdoor sports market was valued at 60 million yuan in 2000 and 300 million yuan in 2002, but it rocketed to 1 billion yuan last year. Industry insiders are confident the growth for this year will be much higher than before.

According to a sports articles vendor in Beijing, sales of skiing equipment in his store were just a few dozens of sets in 2002, which jumped to 300 sets in 2003 and 700 sets in 2004, and the strong momentum remains this year.