Apart from cultural and tourism promotions, the Baoshan district government also aims to encourage women to take a more active part in sports and develop a healthier lifestyle.

Over 3,000 women took part in a 10 kilometer jogging event on March 11.

The runners, in pink T-shirts, jogged through the cherry blossom forest.Former athletes including Cao Yanhua,a former table tennis world champion,and Zhu Yunying, former national volleyball team player, led the runners.

Six “elite female” groups, composed of female doctors, professors, entrepreneurs and government officials, ran ahead of other runners to encourage more women to take part in sports activities, the Baoshan sports authority said.

“Though I may not be able to finish the whole race, I want to showcase my positive attitude to life,” said Zhou, an accountant with a Baoshan-based company.

The annual running event, which was launched last year, is part of the government’s efforts to develop Baoshan, a former industrial base, into the city’s “sports town.”

“More such public sports events will be held regularly to attract more residents to participate,” said Chen Taifeng, director of the Baoshan District Sports Center.

Currently, the district hosts some 1,200 sports events and competitions every year, with more than 900,000 Baoshan residents — or nearly half of its population — taking part, according to the district’s sports bureau.