More people in Tibet enjoy leisure sports

LHASA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The promotion of the National Fitness Program has brought Tibet, the highest region on earth with an average elevation of 4,000 meters, a rapid growing number of people participating the daily leisure sports.

The Lukang Park, at the foot of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, is a morning exercise spot to the local people. There are various kinds of sports equipments sponsored by the National Sports Administration Bureau for promoting the National Fitness Program in China. Those equipments not only have fulfilled different age groups' exercise needs, but have also brought the city with a trend for leisure sport development.

Tsering, an retired worker, said, "Everyday I will spend sometime for exercise here. It has become a routine of my daily life." He also said he read the "The National Fitness Regulations”, which requires the government invest more on the development of public sports facilities.

"I think the Regulations is meaningful in regards to the development of the National Fitness. The installation of sports equipments in parks can attract more people to be part of the exercise group."

Gusang, the principal of the Lhasa Special Education School, said, "The Regulations requires schools to guarantee one hour exercise daily to all the students. It shows the concerns of the government regarding the health development of students. We will surely implement it."

The director of the Tibet Autonomous Region Sports Bureau (TAR)said, "In recent years, we have been trying to promote the development of leisure sports in TAR. There are 24 youth clubs, 5 national sports instrutor's clubs, 317 public sports facilities, and 119 nomads sports programs have been carried out."

According to the TAR Sports Administration Bureau, the exercise population in the whole region has reached 700,000 people, 25% of the total population.