Society

Games help create healthier festival

By Rong Xiandong (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-20 09:03

HEPU, Guangxi: Eating, sleeping and visiting relatives and friends are traditional activities during the Chinese Spring Festival holiday. However, some people in Hepu county of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region decided to do something healthier this year.

They held a series of sporting events during the weeklong Chinese New Year holiday to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Matches including soccer, basketball and table tennis took place across the county from Sunday through Friday, according to the Hepu culture and sports bureau. The bureau helped organize some of the matches, and the other games were initiated by local residents themselves.

"These matches are mainly to help promote a healthy lifestyle among people in the county. Exercise can help people build up their body and lose weight gained from extravagant dinners during the festival," Huang Bingyu, head of the bureau, told China Daily.

While young people participated in sporting events including soccer and basketball, many seniors took part in less energy-consuming sports like table tennis and Chinese chess.

Games help create healthier festival

The two roller-skating rinks in the county seat were packed with hundreds of people each day during the first three days of the first lunar month of 2010, according to the court managers.

A middle school student named Lao Chunyan said she went to the roller-skating rink in the Workers' Cultural Palace twice during the first three days of the first lunar month.

"Roller skating is fun and can also make me stronger," she said.

Holiday health concerns

Lavish dinners are common during the Spring Festival, which is regarded as the most important holiday for Chinese. Traditionally people visit relatives and friends during the festival and the host will prepare lots of dishes including fish, pork, chicken and duck.

Chinese usually take seven days off during the Spring Festival starting from the last day of the previous year on the lunar calendar. This year's holiday ended yesterday.

But with more people realizing the importance of good health, a healthier Spring Festival is attractive to many.

Central China Television also launched a special seven-day program titled "A Healthier Festival."

The program invited many health experts and stars to talk about how to eat healthy, keep fit and reduce stress.

"I follow the program every day. People of my age should be particularly careful about their health. I've already gained weight during the festival from eating and sleeping too much," said Deng Chuanhua, a 50-year-old resident in Nanjing of Jiangsu province.

Deng said she also tried to have a greener festival this year.

"When I visit relatives, I try to take buses rather than driving the car. People are on holiday and the buses are less crowded," she said.