As the whistle blew, the finals of the 2024 National Fitness Games kicked off in the Yuecheng neighborhood of Heze’s Luxi New District. After 13 preliminary rounds and competition across 10 fun sports events, 220 participants made it to the finals, engaging in activities such as hoop tossing, jump rope, and ball squeezing. These athletes poured their sweat into the games, celebrating the joy of sports.
In recent years, the Luxi New District has made significant strides in promoting its cultural and sports initiatives, focusing on enhancing infrastructure and cultivating unique event brands to maximize the overall impact of sports events.
The district has also established high-standard fitness plazas and successfully hosted numerous events, including the 2024 Heze City and Meixian Village Basketball Tournament, community basketball leagues, and five-a-side football matches. Throughout these events, the district has effectively capitalized on its strengths by integrating sports with tourism, driving a deeper synergy between sports and cultural activities, and injecting new energy into rural revitalization.
In Feicheng, within the Shuyuan community’s small square, a community sports event themed “Healthy Living, Happy Sports” recently took place. Residents turned out in high spirits, cheering enthusiastically and creating a vibrant atmosphere.
Xiao Hua, the Party Secretary of the Shuyuan community, shared that even before the competition began, ping pong paddles sold out at nearby shops, showing the event sparked public interest in the sport. “Hosting the community sports event here not only benefits the residents but also stimulates local consumption. Many surrounding businesses offered quality products and services through promotions and sponsorships, achieving a ‘win-win’ situation,” he noted.
With the success of various grassroots sports events, Feicheng’s “Sports Plus” development model is maturing. The district has organized a range of community sports events and popular activities like card games, chess, tug-of-war, and square dancing. These events are not confined to traditional sports venues; instead, they are breaking into commercial areas, communities, and tourist attractions, turning foot traffic into economic growth.
In the expansive rural areas, the fusion of sports events and cultural tourism is also yielding notable economic benefits, empowering rural revitalization. This year, Anqiu City in Weifang hosted two major events—the “Qilu Tianlu” cycling challenge and the “Mountain Outside Mountain” marathon—attracting over 10,000 sports enthusiasts and volunteers from across the province and beyond, showcasing a new urban image.
As a novel approach to merging sports and tourism, “sports tourism” has become a vital window for Anqiu City’s high-quality economic development and image promotion.
Using sports events as a catalyst, Anqiu is transforming its scattered attractions into a connected route, boosting consumption in accommodations, agricultural products, dining, and intangible cultural heritage. It’s been estimated that the “Anqiu Tianlu” event welcomed nearly one million visitors this year, generating five billion yuan in consumption.
Meanwhile, the 14th National Fitness Games basketball tournament in Linqing City and the 16th provincial basketball competition were recently concluded, generating excitement among residents. “Every match has been thrilling, and I’ve nearly visited every day to show my support. People from other counties and districts come here to compete, making the atmosphere electric,” said local resident Zhang Weixiong.
The basketball games reflect a broader surge in public participation in fitness. Linqing City is committed to advancing its sports initiatives, intensifying infrastructure development, nurturing distinctive event brands, and amplifying the comprehensive impact of sports events.
“Linqing will continue to invest in sports infrastructure, improve public service systems, and expand the variety of sporting activities to ignite the public’s passion for sports. We aim to attract more high-quality sports resources and projects, broaden consumption avenues, and invigorate sports development, while crafting a compelling narrative for national fitness,” said Hao Shupeng, a member of the education and sports bureau in Linqing City.
