Society

China to mark second National Fitness Day

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-05 17:22

BEIJING - China will hold a number of sports activities across the country on Sunday to mark its second National Fitness Day, which falls on the second anniversary of the close of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

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In Beijing, sporting stars including former table tennis world champion Kong Linghui, Olympic shooting gold medalist Yang Lin and "Queen of Chess" Xie Jun will take part in a long walk race Sunday in the Chaoyang Park, where more than 12,000 people are also expected to take part.

Special attention will be given to the migrant workers in Beijing as a pitch in the Chaoyang Park will be prepared for those migrant workers to play soccer games.

An international soccer friendly between Chinese Super league champion Beijing Guoan and Spanish powerhouse Barcelona at the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium will be the highlight of the Fitness Day.

And a series of sports activities will continue until the end of August.

China's State General Administration of Sports called for municipal authorities to open sports venues to the public for free on August 8, and citizens will also have free access to some of the training bases for the national teams on the Fitness Day.

"We want to use the National Fitness Day to help people develop a habit of doing exercises, and keep doing it for fitness and fun. And we have been thinking about new measures to achieve that goal, " Feng Jianzhong, vice Minister of the State General Administration of Sports, told reporters.