Every morning, 71-year-old Ren Daqing heads to a community clinic near his home in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, not for medicine, but for exercise.
Heart disease once made Ren wary of physical activity. Today, he runs on a treadmill under the supervision of fitness coaches, with medical staff nearby to monitor his condition. It is part of a growing model across China that combines structured exercise with healthcare services.
"I used to worry that exercise might put my health at risk," Ren said. "Now I know that with professional guidance, exercise can actually help me become healthier."
Community-based health and fitness centers are emerging across China. They combine exercise equipment with tools to monitor physical indicators, conduct cardiopulmonary and strength assessments, and design exercise plans tailored to individual needs.
National health initiatives
Ren's story reflects a broader transformation taking place across China. From football pitches echoing with cheers to neighborhood squares filled with dancing, regular exercise has become part of everyday life for many people. This shift stems from a long-term national strategy that places people's well-being at the heart of sports development.
In 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated this people-centered approach while meeting China's delegation to the Paris Olympic Games. He stressed that the country would continue to promote the deeper integration of national fitness and national health initiatives, advancing the goals of building China into a sporting powerhouse and a healthy nation.
In 2014, China elevated nationwide fitness to a national strategy. The "Healthy China 2030" blueprint was released in 2016, while successive five-year national fitness plans have continued to guide the development of public sports.
This July, China unveiled its National Fitness Plan for 2026-2030, setting the goal of having around 40 per cent of the population regularly participate in physical exercise by 2030, while increasing average sports facility space per capita to around four square meters.
The transformation is increasingly visible. By the end of 2025, China had built more than five million sports venues, covering a total area of 4.37 billion square meters. The concept of a "15-minute fitness circle," in which residents can reach sports facilities within a short walk, has rapidly taken shape.
Across cities, previously overlooked spaces are being transformed into places for exercise and recreation. Unused corners of urban areas, former industrial sites and rooftops are being redesigned as fitness facilities that bring sports closer to local communities.
In Wuxi, a 6.4-hectare area beneath elevated highways has been transformed into a multifunctional fitness park.
"For me, it takes only two or three minutes to walk here from home. Being able to exercise right outside my doorstep is incredibly convenient," said local resident Jin Heping.
Xining, capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province, has used parkland, spaces beneath bridges and former factory buildings to build 233 table tennis courts and 56 shared gyms for residents.
Beyond expanding public spaces, China has also accelerated efforts to open school and workplace sports facilities to local communities. Cities such as Shenzhen have introduced one-stop online reservation systems for public sports venues, covering more than 2,150 facilities and serving over 65 million visits.
Increasingly, the focus has shifted toward helping people exercise more safely, scientifically and effectively. China's network of social sports instructors has grown to more than 3.9 million professionals and volunteers, bringing fitness guidance to neighborhoods, parks and community centers nationwide.
Rapid advances in artificial intelligence are also reshaping the fitness experience. Smart gyms, AI-powered coaching systems and digital competitions are making exercise more personalized, precise and convenient.
With China's three-year Weight Management Initiative underway, local governments have introduced creative campaigns encouraging healthier lifestyles.
Lighthearted competitions with names such as "Trade Fat for Beef" and "Trade Fat for Potatoes" have gone viral on social media, turning public health advocacy into a movement embraced by millions. The trend reflects a broader policy direction, shifting healthcare priorities from treating illness to preventing it.
Governments are building collaborative systems in which sports authorities, health services and communities work together to improve public well-being.
That vision is steadily taking shape. Jiangsu has established more than 200 exercise-based health service centers, providing exercise intervention programs for over 100,000 people each year.
Shanghai has launched dozens of evening fitness schools offering courses ranging from yoga and Taiji to table tennis and aerobics, allowing residents to access professional coaching after work.
Nationwide, more than 5,500 medical institutions have opened clinics dedicated to healthy weight management, where physicians and exercise specialists jointly design personalized health plans.
"The public is moving from simply following exercise routines to understanding why they exercise, how they should exercise and how to maintain healthy habits," said Zheng Jiakun, a professor at Shanghai University of Sport. "People are shifting from passive exercise to proactive health management."
The success of nationwide fitness depends on participation. Across China, that participation is becoming increasingly visible in schools, neighborhoods and sporting arenas.
At a primary school in Nanjing, the playground comes alive as soon as the class bell rings. Children rush outside to play traditional games such as shuttlecock kicking, beanbag throwing and spinning tops.
"I especially like spinning tops," said fourth-grader Wu Zehao. "It's fun, it helps me exercise, and I feel I've become much stronger."
The enthusiasm extends far beyond campuses. Grassroots sporting events have become one of the defining features of China's nationwide fitness campaign.
At the 15th National Games in 2025, thousands of ordinary citizens competed alongside elite athletes in mass-participation events, bringing the country's largest multi-sport event closer to the public.
Elsewhere, amateur competitions are reshaping China's sporting culture. In Jiangsu, the amateur football competition known as the Su Super League has evolved from a local tournament into a national phenomenon. Its players include teachers, students, office workers, engineers and mechanics, all brought together by a shared love of football.
Its popularity has inspired similar city-based leagues across nearly 20 regions in China, bringing new energy to grassroots football. Winter sports tell a similar story.
In 2014, while meeting then-International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, President Xi set an ambitious goal of engaging 300 million people in winter sports.
China's successful bid for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics accelerated that progress. Between the bid in 2015 and the opening of the Games, 346 million Chinese people participated in winter sports.
Today, indoor ski resorts and ice rinks are thriving even in southern cities that rarely experience natural snowfall, showing that winter sports have expanded beyond their traditional geographic boundaries.
China's growing enthusiasm for fitness has also resonated with foreign residents living in the country. After retiring from professional boxing, Croatian Goran Martinovic moved to Suzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province, where he founded a boxing academy to introduce more young people to the sport.
"I've personally experienced how strong the grassroots sports culture is in China," Martinovic said. "More and more children, parents and elderly people are embracing exercise. It gives the whole country a remarkable sense of vitality."
