City races into sports events

An international half marathon event was held in Suzhou last month, attracting about 30,000 participants from home and abroad.

Suzhou has stepped up its efforts to improve lives through sports by developing a strong infrastructure and producing more sports events, according to the city's sports bureau.

In 2014, the Jiangsu province city invested about 60 million yuan ($9.7 million) in the public sports sector. Also, investment in sports from the private sector reachesdabout 20 million yuan, according to the bureau.

The bureau also works with the University of Science and Technology of China to carry out research and devise proposals, which are then sent to the city's government to be approved and then used as guidelines for future developments.

Public sporting facilities in the city have also been improved. The construction of a fitness center in downtown Suzhou has just been completed and the building of sports and culture centers in the city's industrial parks and high-tech zone are underway.

About 80 percent of the community culture and sports centers have been renovated.

The county-level cities in Suzhou, including Kunshan, Taicang and Changshu, boast public stadiums.

Kunshan invested 45 million yuan over three years to develop public fitness facilities.

An extensive network of fitness centers and other facilities has arisen in the downtown and rural areas of Changshu.

The Suzhou government has approved a plan to develop walking trails covering 2,773 km in the city and 40 small squares for sports and exercise. Already, 884 km of the trails has been completed. The trails, along the moat and in the famed Stone Lake Scenic Area, will be operational by the end of June.

Wujiang district also released a three-year plan to develop public sports facilities.

Suzhou has 239 sports associations and 1,493 clubs with 710,000 members, which ranks it first in the province. These social sporting organizations cover almost all of the communities in the city.

Suzhou also has more than 27,000 professionals working in sports education and management. There is also a program to train university students and offer them jobs in the 5,206 sports facilities around the city.

As well as improved facilities, the sports bureau is also working on presenting more innovative events for the public.

The first sports meeting for residents lasted for five months last year with 598,800 people participating in 2,091 events.

There were also sports events held by business associations and government departments. The sixth sports meeting for foreign enterprises attracted more than 2,500 participants.

Suzhou has also held sports events and competitions during festivals and holidays for six years now.

The city organized 69 provincial-level sports competitions last year, ranking it first in Jiangsu. There were some free tickets allocated for local residents and some competitions were also open to the public.

During the past six years, there have also been free lectures on fitness and healthcare in parks and squares across the city. Volunteers also offer lectures and training in the communities.

The city's sports bureau has an official account on WeChat, providing tips and information on fitness as well as updates on the city's sporting events.

fuchao@chinadaily.com.cn