China to add 1,000 sports parks by 2025

BEIJING -- China will build or expand roughly 1,000 sports parks nationwide by 2025, said a guideline released Friday by state organs, including the National Development and Reform Commission.

These parks should be built in open, natural spaces where sports facilities do not occupy too many vegetated areas, said Ou Xiaoli, an official with the commission, at a press conference.

No less than 65 percent of the land area of the sports parks should be vegetated, the guideline says, stressing that the building of these parks must not cross the country's ecological red lines or do harm to the ecosystems.

Real estate development and excessive commercialization are not allowed in sports parks, said the guideline.

Sports facilities in these parks should meet the demand from all age groups, such as fitness trails for the elderly or football pitches for the youth, it added.