The construction of the Asian Games Sailing Center in Xiangshan county, East China's Zhejiang province, is underway. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The government of Zhejiang province recently released 20 measures to boost the local sports industry.

"The measures focus on sports matches and performances, fitness and recreation activities, and emphasize developing a variety of products and services to meet all people's sporting needs," said Jiang Jiancheng, director of the economics department of the province's sports bureau. 

Consumer spending on sports has risen significantly in recent years in Zhejiang. In 2018, the province held 321 running races, one of the highest numbers in China, and its winter sports venues generated 188 million yuan ($26.53 million) contributed by 1.38 million sports participants. Zhejiang now houses three indoor ski resorts and 12 outdoor ones. 

The new measures come with a goal for the province's sports industry: to be valued at more than 500 billion yuan by 2025 and account for 1.8 percent of regional GDP.

Statistics show that the province's sports industry grew 15.08 percent on average from 2014 to 2017, much faster than the regional GDP, and the industry yielded an annual output of 230.4 billion yuan in 2018.

The provincial authority said that Zhejiang College of Sports should be elevated from a vocational school to a university to attract more students.

Its measures also urge local authorities to formulate a plan, before the end of 2020, to drive the integrated development of the sports industry in the Yangtze River Delta region.