Industry back on rails after lull resulting from pandemic-related business pressure
An outdoor mass fitness activity takes place in June to celebrate the upcoming 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. (LIN YUNLONG / FOR CHINA DAILY)
Wu Jie, a 30-year-old office worker in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, recently resumed fitness activity at a local gym to help manage stress levels.
Wu, a fitness enthusiast for more than five years, said: "After-work hours have become an important time for me to shed some of the work stress. So, I like to exercise at night."
After-work hours have become an important time for me to shed some of the work stress. So, I like to exercise at night.
Wu Jie, an office worker and fitness enthusiast in Guangzhou, Guangdong province
Nighttime sports and fitness activities, including running, skateboarding, basketball and soccer, have become a new trend this summer across the country.
While young office workers are taking to fitness regimens, dancing at community squares has for long been a favorite activity of the elderly, especially women.
"In recent months, we have seen increased membership by customers who have been doing exercises at night after work," said Yang Ji, a fitness coach at a local gym in the business district of Tianhe, Guangzhou.
According to a report on China's fitness industry released by the Chinese Fitness and Bodybuilding Association in May, the national fitness market has resumed in full swing from the first quarter of 2023 following the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of December 2022, there were 71.45 million paid offline fitness memberships nationwide at about 131,000 fitness venues across the country, said the report.
It said that people born in the 1980s and 1990s were the largest consumer groups within the fitness industry, with first-tier cities being the main fitness consumption markets.
In addition to the growing demand for fitness at nighttime during summer, there has been rising demand for outdoor sports activities among the younger generation.
According to data from on-demand online service platform Meituan, the order volume of night sports increased by 155 percent in July compared with the same period last year, with billiards, badminton and basketball becoming the most popular sports activities.
The order volume for ballgames in particular increased by 250 percent year-on-year in July, according to Meituan's data.
People work out at a park at night in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on Aug 6. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
People in Guangdong were the biggest fans of nighttime sports and fitness, with Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Foshan, Dongguan and Zhongshan being the most active cities for such activities, the data showed.
Outdoor activities, such as riding at night, have also become popular among citizens and tourists, as temperatures during the day have been rising since the beginning of summer.
According to data from Meituan Bike, demand for bicycles has increased by 20 percent compared to the period before the summer vacation, with the service turning more popular between 7 pm and 2 am.
More than half of the nighttime cycle users in Guangzhou are those born in the 1990s.
The most popular areas for riding bicycles at night in Guangzhou are Beijing Road and the Zhujiang New Town along the Pearl River, which runs from the west to the east of the city.
Increased demand for sports and fitness activities during summer has also driven growth in sports-related equipment.
At an outlet of French sporting goods retailer Decathlon in Guangzhou, a local resident surnamed Chen, along with his 15-year-old son, were seen selecting outdoor clothing.
"We are going to buy quick-drying clothes and some outdoor sunscreen products," Chen said.
According to Peng Jing, head of Decathlon public affairs in Guangzhou, sales of outdoor mountaineering equipment across its 13 outlets in the city have increased by nearly 20 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2023.
"Hiking backpacks and sticks, sunscreen and fast-drying clothes, swimsuits and goggles and snorkeling masks have become the most popular sales categories as consumers tend to choose outdoor mountaineering and hiking as well as water sports," said Peng.
Sales of intelligent sports equipment have also increased since the beginning of 2023.
"Sales have met our expectations in the first half," said Wu Muhong, chief marketing officer of Yunmai Technology Co Ltd, a Zhuhai, Guangdong-based technology and innovation company that provides intelligent sports and health solutions. The company also focuses on research and development of intelligent facilities in the field of sports and health.
According to Wu, the company's intelligent massage fascia gun MIX and its body fat scale were ranked first in sales within specific categories during the 618 online shopping festival on Tmall, a Chinese online shopping platform.
