China wants to build a concrete basketball court and two outdoor table tennis
tables in every village as part of a rural fitness drive.
While 80 percent of Chinese live in the countryside, only eight percent of
the nation's sports facilities are in rural areas.
"Of all the measures to be taken in building the new socialist countryside,
the national fitness project is one that needs the smallest investment but will
produce an instant effect," Feng Jianzhong, Vice Minister of China's sports
administration, told a news conference on Wednesday.
The investment will come from 90 million yuan ($11.22 million) of central
government money supplemented by local government funds and topped up by
entrepreneurs, Feng said.
There would be no financial burden on farmers, he added, although local
labourers would offer their services "on a voluntary basis".
Feng said the facilities, which he hoped to have in a sixth of villages by
2011, would provide other benefits to the communities.
"The concrete field is multi-functional and can be used to stockpile grain
and for other entertainments," he said.