简体中文
Entering the Sichuan Museum, Chengdu Museum and Chengdu Sport University Museum, one will be amazed by the extensive collection of ancient artifacts, showcasing the long and prosperous history of sports in Chengdu.
The urban sports history of Chengdu dates back to the ancient kingdom of Shu in the 12th century BC. The carvings of bows, arrows, fish and birds on a gold crown and staff unearthed from the Jinsha Ruins provide ample evidence of the widespread use of archery in primitive production and hunting.
The people of Chengdu have had a diverse range of sports hobbies since ancient times. During the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), popular sports in Chengdu included weiqi (go), cuju (an ancient Chinese football game) and juedi (a traditional Chinese wrestling contest). Polo became a craze in Chengdu during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), giving birth to the world’s first women’s polo team. Dragon boat racing on the Jinjiang River reached unprecedented popularity during the Tang and Song (960-1279) dynasties. In the Song, Yuan (1271-1368) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties, chuiwan, considered a precursor to golf, became popular in Chengdu.
Students from Sichuan University, dressed in traditional Han costume, play cuju (an ancient Chinese football game) during a cultural festival. [Photo provided to China Daily]
As the Chengdu FISU Games approaches, the sporting spirit of the local people has been awakened. As a “park city under the snow-capped mountains”, people are leveraging Chengdu’s natural environment to tackle the “new triathlon”. It involves cycling along the Chengdu Ring Greenway, reaching the summit of Longquan Mountain to watch the sunrise and camping in the city. The “new triathlon” has become a popular fitness project on social media.
Cui Can, a Chengdu resident, said: “In the past, my friends and I were quite homebodies living a leisurely lifestyle. But now, we frequently organize trips to the gym or greenways for ball games or cycling.”
He said that in recent years, sports facilities near his home have become increasingly well-equipped, and the sports spaces in parks and greenways have become more diverse.
Recently, Cui and his friends completed a 100-kilometer cycling challenge on the Chengdu Ring Greenway. “We rode for the entire day. Although we were tired, the stunning scenery along the route made it all worthwhile,” he said.
The Chengdu Ring Greenway is a 100-km-long circular green trail built alongside the Chengdu Ring Expressway. It is a primary greenway in the Chengdu Circular Ecological Park, boasting 78 scenic bridges that connect 121 ecological parks including Guixi Ecological Park, Qinglong Lake Park and Jincheng Lake Park.
The Chengdu Ring Greenway is an important part of Chengdu’s Tianfu Greenway system. In order to become a “park city”, Chengdu has planned a 16,900-km-long Tianfu Greenway within its 14,300 square kilometers of urban area.
The greenway system is equipped with an array of sports facilities and incorporates diverse landscapes such as mountains, forests, lakes and fields throughout the city. This ensures that residents of Chengdu have convenient access to natural sports venues.
As Chengdu has geared up for the FISU Games, the public fitness service system, centered around the Tianfu Greenway, has been improved.
According to data from the Chengdu sports bureau, there were a total of 64,100 sports venues in Chengdu by the end of 2022. The Tianfu Greenway has more than 1,700 sports facilities integrated into its completed network, which spans more than 5,000 km. A total of 6,000 public fitness activities were held throughout the year.
A representative from the Chengdu sports bureau said: “To satisfy residents’ needs to exercise in their local areas, we will be constructing or renovating a number of sports parks this year. Additionally, we will create 50 sites for sports consumption, 100 community sports corners and 200 new fitness spaces along the Tianfu Greenway. These spaces will be developed using parklands, underutilized urban areas, and available edges and corners.”
In the Kuan Alley community of Chengdu’s Shaocheng subdistrict, there is a WePark community football park, which used to be an empty plot of land. To better cater to the exercise needs of residents, the local government has transformed it into a community sports corner. The equipment for this project was imported from the Netherlands and the park has been in operation since 2019, according to a staff member of the operating company. Local residents can access the park for free by scanning a QR code.
To ensure that residents can enjoy the benefits of the FISU Games, Chengdu introduced an initiative in 2021 that offers them free or discounted access to its venues. In 2022, the venues were open for a total of 76,300 hours, attracting more than 5 million visits with free or discounted access. Additionally, a total of 727 sports events were held.
Dozens of cyclists compete in a race on Chengdu’s greenways. [Photo provided to China Daily]
In 2023, Chengdu will host a variety of branded fitness activities and sports events, utilizing parks, greenways, outdoor landscapes and sports venues. From March to May, there were over 400 sessions, drawing in more than 500,000 participants. Throughout the year, Chengdu plans to host over 4,600 fitness events for the public, which are expected to benefit more than 4.6 million people with free or affordable access to sports venues at all levels.
Influenced by the FISU Games and the increasing enthusiasm for sports, Chengdu is witnessing the emergence of unique and trendy sports activities. The city is also becoming a preferred destination for many sports brands to establish their theme stores.
In 2022, the Chengdu sports bureau published the results of a survey on public preferences for fitness infrastructure in Chengdu. The results indicated that running, badminton, swimming, fitness, table tennis, basketball, football and square dancing were the activities most favored by locals. It was found that 20 percent of those surveyed had engaged in emerging sports, with winter sports and water sports being the most popular among them.
Zhang Wenzhuo, a senior student at Sichuan Tourism University, has been skateboarding for six to seven years. He has noticed that in recent years, there has been an increasing number of skateboarding venues around him, as well as a growing community of people who enjoy skateboarding. Inspired by this trend, he started to offer skateboarding training classes in his hometown of Longquanyi district, Chengdu.
“The FISU Games has brought about subtle changes in the mindset of residents. Previously, some parents may have worried that allowing their children to skateboard would negatively affect their academic performance. However, there is now an increasing emphasis on encouraging children to alleviate the pressures of learning through sports,” Zhang said.
He added that sports can improve physical fitness and foster a positive outlook on life. In addition, he hopes Chengdu hosting the FISU Games will help to promote a greater variety of sports among more residents.
(CHINA DAILY)
