This Day, That Year
40 YEARS ON
Editor’s Note: This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policy.
In the early 1990s, bodybuilding was barely known in the country. It was considered a “luxury indulged in only by the rich” of the West.
But it slowly became popular, initially in cities such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province.
Going to the gym has since become a popular way to exercise, expanding to metropolises including Beijing and Shanghai and to lower-tier cities.
Health and fitness club chains have continued to ride the trend, opening outlets across the country.
The State Council, China’s Cabinet, has projected that the fitness industry could be worth 5 trillion yuan ($792 billion) by 2025.
The latest push for exercise, encouraged in large part by the government, has led to rising numbers of gym attendees.
Sales in the fitness sector rose to 127.2 billion yuan in 2014, from 69.1 billion yuan in 2009, according to a report by the Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, a consultancy based in Shenzhen.
On average, there is a gym for every 1 million people in China. There are 3.5 million gym members in the country, according to a survey by the General Administration of Sport of China and market research group Nielsen Holdings.
To meet the market