Fighting fit gyms brace for market

Fitness industry innovates and expands as more and more Chinese exercise to stay healthy, creating huge potential for growth

The fitness industry in China is booming on the back of a keep-fit fever that is sweeping the urban white-collar population.

A report by the Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, showed that sales at China's fitness industry have increased to 127.2 billion yuan ($19.6 billion) in 2014 from 69.1 billion yuan in 2009 - that is, a whopping 84 percent rise over a five-year period or an average annual growth rate of almost 17 percent.