Idols exercise their influence to fashion a fitter future

Jiang added that the reason why she linked up with Fila was because of the beneficial effects sports have on people's lives. Founded in Italy in 1911, Fila was acquired by Chinese sportswear brand Anta in 2009.

After years of development, Fila reported an impressive 6.5 billion yuan ($1 billion) revenue in the Chinese market for the first half of 2019. Fueled by Fila's success, Anta's annual revenue reached 35.5 billion yuan in 2020.

Professional dancer Wang Yabin is another eminent woman who recognizes the holistic value of sports and exercise.

"As a professional dancer, I am very busy with my career. But as long as I have time, I go swimming or do yoga, although nowadays I tend to give contact sports a miss because as a pro dancer I want to avoid injuries," Wang told China Daily.

"But I really want to try a lot of different sports, such as snowboarding and equestrian. I also watch many sports matches when I have time, including basketball, golf and rhythmic gymnastics.

"Dancing and sports can help improve one's physical and mental health. They can boost people's confidence and are ways to express oneself to the world. One also learns how to cooperate with others in a team."

Wang also believes there's a lot more to exercise than just shedding weight and keeping fit. "Dancing is the highest form of art and it has a lot of similarities with sports," she said. "Through dancing, people can improve their physical fitness, their temperament and their appreciation of beauty and elegance."

Coach Zhang concurs.

"Sports have allowed me to learn the meaning of true beauty. A concept of rhythmic gymnastics is how to present your most beautiful and elegant side on stage. Why do so many girls want to participate in rhythmic gymnastics? It's because the sport offers them exactly what they want," said Zhang.

"But don't get me wrong, being beautiful and elegant on stage still means you have to train very hard and make sacrifices. As an athlete you need to repeat the same move over and over again, and continue even after you fail. And you need to keep pushing yourself and tell yourself not to stop on the way to achieving your dream."