More fitness venues to allow public access

China's governing body for sports, saying it wants to encourage greater mass participation in exercise, has pledged to open more State-owned facilities to the public.

With the lack of accessible and affordable sports facilities reducing the effectiveness of China's mass fitness campaign, the General Administration of Sport of China said on Thursday that it has been working with the ministries of finance, urban development and education to better manage and expand funding for State-owned stadiums, training bases and school infrastructure that would be open to the public on a more regular basis.

Citing a study by Shanghai University of Sport on the development sports for the masses, the administration stressed that the current distribution of government subsidies and evaluation systems don't do enough to encourage owners to open their venues for public use.