Fitness routine keeps residents healthier

LANZHOU－After playing badminton, 30-year-old Zhang Lingqian and her friends began to jog around the Qinchuanhu Park and enjoy the fresh air.

Zhang's hometown is Pingchuan district, Baiyin city in Northwest China's Gansu province. The formation of a 15-minute fitness circle here has helped residents live healthier lives.

Qinchuanhu Park, which covers more than 100,000 square meters, resembles a green diamond in the urban area of the district. It is said that the park used to be a ditch with lots of garbage.

"The man-made lake at the park looks like a green mirror," says Zhang, adding that she often exercises with her friends in different parks.

Pingchuan, with an annual output of nearly 9 million tons of coal, is rich in resources, but mine subsidence and ecological deterioration occurred a few years ago.

"We couldn't jog or walk too long outside because of the air pollution at that time," Zhang says.

Since 2017, green spaces and several urban parks have been built to help local people enjoy a fitter lifestyle. The increase of parkland has gradually improved the local environment, and recent years have seen a greater number of people willing to go out and get involved in sports.

Zhang says it would take her about 10 minutes to walk from her home to Qinchuanhu Park. Then she would arrive at Pingchuan Park after walking less than 500 meters along the fitness track.

The Administration of Sport of Pingchuan District says 1,450 sets of fitness equipment have been distributed to 148 outdoor fitness venues since 2015. The urban green coverage rate of Pingchuan district reached 40 percent, and the district's outdoor fitness venues reached 768, covering nearly 500,000 sq m last year.

"One park connecting to another makes it very easy for us to exercise," Zhang says.

In order to help more local people exercise in a good environment, the district has built more than 100,000 sq m of man-made lakes, and the urban green coverage area was more than 8.4 million sq m at the end of last year.

"The outline of a 15-minute fitness circle has begun to take shape in recent years. The district began building a sports park and a children's park with a total area of 280,000 sq m earlier this year," says Liu Huaipeng, director of the garden administration office of Pingchuan district.

Liu adds that construction of a 60,000-square-meter green space with fitness equipment was completed by the end of last year.

The construction of the 15-minute fitness circle by Pingchuan district is part of the fitness program of Gansu province. The province plans to fulfill the construction of 15-minute fitness circles covering all communities by the end of 2025.

Xinhua