Huzhou in East China's Zhejiang province kicks off a fitness festival on July 13. [Photo/hz66.com]

A fitness festival was held in Huzhou in East China's Zhejiang province on July 13, according to local media reports.

The festival, which started with a night walk, will run until the end of November. A series of sports events, including tug-of-war, 3-on-3 basketball, line dancing, dragon boat racing and mountaineering, will be held across the city during the period.

For the first time, the organizers will stage sports events and offer services including fitness examinations in 10 rural venues in the city.

The festival, which is in its fourth edition this year, comes as part of authorities' efforts to improve the fitness of local residents.

Earlier this year, Huzhou unveiled a five-year plan to facilitate the fitness of local residents.

According to the plan, the city aims to increase the proportion of people who regularly take part in physical exercises to above 43.5 percent, and have 94.6 percent of its population meet the national physical fitness standards by 2025.

Presently, all public sports venues and school sports facilities in Huzhou are open to the public for free. The city's per capita sports area currently stands at 2.65 square meters, official data show.