After 2008, the people of Beijing came away
with a great understanding of the Olympic Games.
They understand that sports are a part of the culture.
After many years of reform and opening to the world
China's sports system is gradually meeting
the international standards.
China's original system has had to adjust itself
to be more in line with international sport systems.
As a result, a more diversified system
has emerged here in China.
These days it's not just about chasing gold medals.
Beijing built 31 stadiums for the 2008 Olympic Games.
These stadiums are still in use for sports
and cultural activities for the people living in Beijing.
For example, the Bird's Nest,
the Water Cube,
the National Stadium there,
the Wukesong Stadium in the southwest of Beijing
and other stadiums in the schools.
There are six stadiums located in schools.
Besides being utilised by teachers and students,
those stadiums are also open to the public.
The services these stadiums provide represent
an actual benefit to our citizens' daily lives.
In the Olympic Forest Park,
it has a 3,000-metre, 5,000-metre
and 10,000-metre running tracks.
This is one of the facilities the 2008 Olympic Games left us.
(AFTER BEIJING 2008, BEIJING 2008)
(LEGACY OF BEIJING 2008)
(CHINA TRANSFORMS)
(COMING OF AGE: CHINA AFTER BEIJING 2008)
(THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT SPENT AN ESTIMATED $36 BILLION
(UPGRADING INFRASTRUCTURE
(FOR THE BEIJING 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES)
(PROJECTS RANGED FROM RENEWABLE ENERGY & GREEN SPACES
(TO DOUBLING THE SIZE OF BEIJING'S METRO SYSTEM)
I take subway line 8 to come here.
Line 8 was built for
the 2008 Olympic Games.
And it makes it much easier
for runners
to get to the Olympic Forest Park.
(THE 1,700-ACRE OLYMPIC FOREST PARK WAS COMPLETED IN 2008)
(IT IS HOME TO LARGE CROWDS OF BEIJING RECREATIONAL RUNNERS
(AS RUNNING CLUBS CONTINUE TO SPROUT UP LIKE NEVER BEFORE)
(RUNNING BOOM:
(BEIJING OLYMPIC PARK SPARKS CHINA'S RUNNING WAVE)
(IN THE LAST FEW YEARS
(CHINA'S RUNNING INDUSTRY HAS EXPLODED,
(WITH RECORD-BREAKING NUMBERS OF CHINESE
(TAKING PART IN MARATHONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY)
(FROM THE GRASSLANDS OF INNER MONGOLIA
(TO THE CHAOTIC STREETS OF SHANGHAI,
(AND EVEN ON THE GREAT WALL)
(BEIJING FOREST PARK
(HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF CHINA'S RUNNING BOOM)
I began running in March 2015.
So I've been running for about a year and a half now.
I started running because I felt I wasn't strong enough.
My physical and mental health have both improved
since I started running.
I've also made more friends through running,
as well as becoming more self-disciplined.
Our Maker Run group was established in June 2015.
At first, it was just a few people running together.
Gradually we attracted more runners to join our group.
We are of different ages,
lifestyles and walks of life.
Running together brings us health and joy.
Our group now has more than 1,000 members in Beijing.
By running together, we encourage each other
motivate and challenge ourselves.
Every time I run in the Olympic Forest Park, I'm very happy.
I run here at least three times a week.
I like running because it has become part of my lifestyle,
rather than running for the sake of running.
It's more about embracing a healthy lifestyle.
Because of the 2008 Olympic Games
we start paying more attention to sports and exercise.
All kinds of exercise facilities
have been built in almost
every residential community.
If it wasn't for the promotion of the Olympic spirit
these facilities would not have been built so quickly
by the government.
Of course, one must mention all of the new stadiums.
Many stadiums were built for
the 2008 Olympic Games.
So people now have more places
to go for exercising.
We can go to those places to exercise any time of the year.
To me, this is the biggest benefit
of this city's development in the last 10 years.
The Olympic Forest Park was built for
the 2008 Olympic Games.
This park has professional
tracks for running.
Just like what we had at the national teams.
It's very comfortable to run on it.
It's not completely flat
nor does it have too many ups and downs.
It's a perfect combination of different terrains.
The atmosphere here in this park
and even the sculptures here
make you feel the spirit of sports.
Since the 2008 Olympic Games
people are becoming more and more interested in sports.
More and more people have started exercising
because they are influenced by the Olympic spirit.
We see more and more people going there every day.
Thanks to urban planning
for the 2008 Olympic Games,
subways and streets were built around the park.
So more and more people go there to exercise.
The aim of BODA is to utilise Olympic facilities
to benefit the entire city over the long term.
That is to apply the city management experience
we gained during the Olympic period to daily life,
rather than just relegating it to a one-time event.
All the visible and invisible wealth
the 2008 Olympic Games have left us
are now integrated into the best practices
of city management
to make city life more user-friendly
and to improve the lives of our citizens.
The 2008 Olympic stadiums,
from planning to construction,
to their utilisation after the Games,
were all developed
with the idea of being turned into public facilities
after the Games.
For example, the Water Cube
has the highest number of daily visitors
that can exceed 100,000.
In the past, the reason why we chose the whole nation system
was that China's economy fell comparatively behind.
Now there are various channels of social capital.
Lots of public funds are also available
to be invested into the sports industry.
A simple example -
our university will be open to the public in the afternoon.
In the past, we used to think this facility is our own.
It is not like that any more. It belongs to the taxpayers.
When we don't use it, it's open to the public.
So they can use the facilities here to exercise.
If it is not for the Olympic Games
I believe big areas in good locations will not be used
as exercising areas for people.
I was in the volunteer department
during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Because of the Olympic Games
the volunteering culture has been developed greatly.
When we were little,
perhaps the goal of doing sports
was mainly about participating in competitions,
winning the championship and gaining glory.
Now participation in sports is not all about that any more.
What is more important
is that parents hope their children to be healthy
and their children have strong fighting spirit
or teamwork spirit, etc.
As demand changes,
form changes as well.
Sports were something practised by just a few people,
because it was a time
for cultivating elite athletes only.
Now, with increasing demand from common people,
from families and children,
sports have become popular mass activities.
(COMING OF AGE: CHINA AFTER BEIJING 2008)