3 . After bikes and umbrellas are made sharable across China, some companies started eyeing the fitness market, so shared gym rooms have hit the streets in Beijing.

Unlike common gyms that provide large, open spaces for many members to share at the same time, the newly built shared gym rooms are small, stand-alone rooms for a person to use, often set up near living communities.

Every four-square-meter room is equipped with a treadmill (跑步机), an air cleaner, a mirror, a television and an air conditioner, and users can let down the curtains for privacy. When exercising, users can listen to music, watch movies and check emails by connecting to the Internet by the screen fixed on the treadmill. There’s no shower or washbasin.

Similar to using a shared bike, users can locate a shared gym room by smartphone application, book a room in advance and then need to scan a QR code for use. A refundable deposit (保证金) of 99 yuan is required, and users are charged 1 yuan every 5 minutes.

The shared gym rooms are created by Misspao, a Beijing-based technology company founded in July. Within several months since it was founded, the company has already raised over 100 million yuan, Yicai Global reports. The idea of the shared fitness experience is not entirely nascent. Last December, the Shanghai-based technology company VRUN set up shared treadmills in office and apartment buildings.

The sharing economy is still becoming popular in China. According to Yicai Global, confident investors are pouring millions into sharing start-ups. In March, the State Information Center published a report which predicts that the total value of China’s sharing economy will see a yearly growth of 40% in the coming years, and it is expected to make a great contribution to the country’s GDP.

5 . COMPETITION

Draw a sea creature for our ocean poster

Are you a gifted artist? Do you think you can draw a prize-winning dolphin or shark? In celebration of World Ocean Day on 8 June, The Week Junior is running a competition to create an awesome poster featuring some of the world’s coolest sea creatures, and your artwork could be part of it!

How to enter

Draw a picture of your favorite sea creature and send your picture by email tocompetitions@theweekjunior.com with OCEANPOSTER as the subject line by 12 April 2024. Make sure you’ve included your name, age, chosen sea creature, the address and phone number of your parent or guardian.

Once the competition has closed, our judges will pick 10 of the best animal drawings. They will be looking for the most creative and colorful drawings, so don’t be afraid to go big!

What you could win

The winning pictures will be shown on a The Week Junior ocean poster. Each winner will also receive a paint brush set worth over £80, which will be delivered to you.

Terms and conditions

The Week Junior will not share your personal details with third parties. The Week Junior will only use personal information to get in touch with the competition winners.

No responsibility can be accepted for entries (参赛作品) that have been lost or damaged in transit (运输中), or for any technical failure or any event that may cause the competition to stop. Entries must be received before 11: 59 pm on 12 April 2024.

All winners will be informed accordingly 4-6 weeks after the competition closes. By entering the competition all participants shall give permission for their artwork to be published online. Entries cannot be returned to senders.

7 . When I was in my college, I have a full class schedule and a part-time job. I ________ had time for exercise. On top of that, my lifestyle as a starving college student lent itself to many a fast-food run. Undoubtedly, I was ________.

After graduation, I decided to go to the ________.Together with a friend, I began to work out ________. I was very satisfied. My friend, however, became ________. One day, he suggested that we take up a sport.

Me? Sports? No way. I was not ________, and no one was going to change my mind. However, after a few weeks, I stepped onto an outdoor racquetball court (球场) unwillingly. I hit the ball, sending it flying in every direction (方向) except for the direction that I had ________.

But just as I was beginning to feel comfortable.my friend suggested we play tennis ________. Tennis? I can’t play tennis! I was ________ against his new suggestion. However, weeks later, I found myself standing on a tennis court.________.I ran after every ball that he served to me, completely ________ about ninety percent of them, and hitting the rest into the woods and the other court.

The first few months were quite ________. But one day, as the ball came flying toward me, my racket and the ball finally met in what tennis players consider as the “sweet spot”. I watched ________ as my return landed powerfully on the other side of the court, almost exactly where I had aimed. I had finally learned how to play tennis properly (正确的)!

Obviously, if I hadn’t stepped outside of my comfort zone (区域), I would have never ________how much I enjoyed tennis. I began to try new things willingly, with a sense of ________.

10 . Hotels were full, local specialties were nearly sold out, tourists came in droves from all parts of China... Rongjiang, a small county of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture in Guizhou province, has recently gone viral for its “Village Super League”.

Every week, more than 40,000 audiences flock to the stadium for the “Village Super League”. As of the end of June, 2023, the tournament has had more than 20 billion views on the Internet.

“This is a soccer carnival deeply rooted in the soil! I’ve covered numerous sports events, including the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics. But it is really the first time that I have experienced such a down-to-earth and lively scene as this,” said Han Qiaosheng, a Chinese sports TV commentator.

During a match in May, Wu Chuguo, a decoration worker from Liubaitang village, Rongjiang County, scored a spectacular 40-meter goal that ignited the crowd. Wu said he was influenced by elders in his village and fell in love with the sport. In the county, rural soccer matches have taken place regularly since the 1990s. When there was a lack of facilities, soccer players used barren land as a field and wooden stakes(桩) for the posts. The boundaries were marked out with lim e powder. When they can’t gather enough players, they play futsal, a soccer-based game played on a smaller hard court.

In recent years, the county has focused on gymnastics, soccer, rock climbing and other sports, which has developed outstanding national and provincial-level sporting talent. What sets the Village Super League apart from other sports events are the vibrant displays of ethnic(民族的) cultures and traditions at the tournament.

“I hope that more and more tourists will come to Rongjiang to watch the matches, enjoy the folk customs and local cuisine, and have fun,” said Xiong Zhuqing, a melon grower who is also a cheerleader. She says she has sold over 10,000 kilograms of watermelons since the start of the tournament. As of June 27, a total of 654 new businesses were established, including 91 in the catering sector, 188 in retail, and 195 in agriculture and food processing, the local government said.

By combining tourism with sports, Rongjiang has found a creative and meaningful way to promote rural vitalization(振兴) and rural economic growth.