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Fitness and cultural health take center stage

By SONG MENGXING | (China Daily) | 2024-12-17

At a sports square in Qingdao's Shibei district, residents perform fitness routines, while in the amusement area, children laugh and play games. The newly opened square is one of the district's key projects for 2024, and with a focus on greenery and sports, it seamlessly integrates with ecology, catering to all age groups.

Qingdao has built several such sports parks and updated 373 fitness facilities this year. Currently, the city has more than 11,000 public fitness facilities, and the per capita sports space has increased to 3.7 square meters.

Moreover, through an upgraded smart sports platform, residents can locate 11,058 fitness venues, 3,012 gymnasiums and 90,737 pieces of fitness equipment. The platform also offers functions such as event announcements, gymnasium reservations and venue navigation.

Qingdao has also launched a series of activities under the theme of "national fitness enters the community", allowing residents to enjoy athletic activities on their doorstep. To address the lack of sports availability in its outlying environs, the city included rural sports activities as a municipal project this year and has held 108 rural sports activities.

Qingdao has also enriched public cultural services. It has successively initiated several projects involving the expansion of Qingdao Museum and a new site for Qingdao Library, and guided different districts to optimize existing grassroots public cultural venues. In addition, the city has hosted exhibitions and performances to enrich cultural activities, including a rural dance competition, a rural singing contest and an exhibition of fine art and photography works.

Catering to the diverse needs of different groups, Qingdao has introduced a "park plus cultural activity "brand, hosting events that integrate art forms beloved by the public, such as music, dance, drama and quyi — Chinese folk art forms featuring storytelling and singing.

Focusing on the growing social needs of young people, the city has organized public cultural training programs at night, offering courses in fields such as tea art, flower arrangement and drumming. To date, more than 3,300 sessions have been held and "night school" has become a new trend in the lives of young residents.