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Football pitches and basketball courts at Wangdian town's fitness center. [Photo/cnjxol.com]

Local residents in Wangdian town, Xiuzhou district, Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang province have voiced their approval of the newly-established fitness center.

In 2020, the government of Wangdian town invested more than 20 million yuan ($3.08 million) to transform a run-down junior high school into the first rural fitness center in the city.

Many indoor and outdoor sports venues, including football pitches, basketball courts, goalball courts, volleyball courts, table tennis rooms and gyms can be found in the center.

The fitness center has become popular among local residents since trial operations started in May. As a result, different sporting teams have sprung up. Wangdian town is currently home to 111 sports teams.

"We used to drive to the downtown area to find a place to play football but now we have a regular place to play. It's like we found a home," said Wang Yunbo, member of the Wangdian Town Football Association.

Besides a diversity in sporting options, intelligence is another feature of Wangdian's fitness center. People can enter the venue simply by having their faces scanned after they have registered themselves on the WeChat account of community sports center ("社区运动家").

The fitness center has received 37,000 people to date and will add more fitness facilities in the near future.

People play volleyball at Wangdian town's fitness center. [Photo/cnjxol.com]