New edition of Chongming Island Leisure Games to kick off

The Second Chongming Island Leisure Games will take place at Chongming Island, Shanghai, this month as part of efforts to promote the national fitness initiative.

The first edition of the games, which took place in 2016, featured 18 sporting events and attracted more than 70,000 participants. The upcoming games will be separated into four categories including cycling, road running, aquatic sports and the puzzle-based fitness activities. The games will take place till November.

"Our mission is to satisfy the growing and diversified demands for physical fitness, and to build Chongming Island into a 'sports leisure island' with strong reputation and influence," said Gong Yaofei, director of the sports administration of Chongming Island.

The Shanghai government proposed in 2001 to develop Chongming as an ecological island. Fifteen years later, the municipal government announced that it would turn the island into a major outdoor sports leisure center.

Today, Chongming holds at least 50 district-level sports competitions every year as well as many international events, including a stop on the UCI Women's Road Cycling World Cup. The Ironman 70.3 triathlon and the Rock’ n’ Roll Marathon are new additions to the island’s event calendar.

According to Wang Jing, deputy governor of Chongming district, the local authorities will implement several measures to achieve the goal of becoming an international sporting arena.

One of these measures involves developing distinctive towns that have a strong sporting focus. In 2017, the nation announced 96 towns with sporting characteristics. Chongming is currently home to two.

"We will actively participate in the construction of the towns and will organize 30 sports and leisure activities in these towns, including marathons and triathlons," said Wang.

Another measure is related to improving the sports industry. According to Wang, the approval process for mass and commercial competitions will be streamlined to foster a more competitive market. Moreover, the government will provide aid to the companies that hold charitable and sporting activities that benefit the public.

In addition to high-profile competitions like the Chongming Island Leisure Games, the authorities will hold more than 900 sport and leisure-related activities and events within villages and towns on the island.

"We will make Chongming an ideal place for fitness, leisure, tourism and holiday," Wang said.