Sports develops in tandem with economic growth

Editor's Note: Four decades of reform and opening-up have not only turned China into the world's second-largest economy but also changed its people's way of life. With Beijing hosting the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, a veteran journalist with China Daily analyzes the changes in people's attitude toward sports.

Playing sports, especially organized sports, used to be a luxury for ordinary people like us four decades ago. The reason: poor nutrition partly due to the food rationing system.

The few stadiums and gyms that the big cities had were used by provincial- and national-level athletes for training. Common people could enter them only as spectators to watch some sports tournaments.