The State General Administration of Sports (GAS) has launched a nationwide physical fitness campaign consisting of 65 special events, a GAS official revealed during a press conference on Wednesday.

Xu Chuan, vice-director of the GAS mass sports office, said the campaign, called the "Sports-For-All & Olympic Movement Series Activities", will take place throughout the year. Its goal is to increase Chinese people's physical strength.

It will include traditional sports like dragon-boat races, dragon dances and Tai Chi Chuan, and more popular sports such as hiking, swimming, walking, cycling, ball sports and chess, as well as bodybuilding exercises, tennis, roller skating, bowling and darting.

The campaign will aim at mass participation: no less than a million people are expected in several nationwide events such as the "hiking festival," the "dragon-boat month," and the "bodybuilding month."

(Source: BOCOG February 15,2007)