Sports stadium stays in good use between games

With many of the nation's giant stadiums sliding into disuse and disrepair after sports events, venues for the 10th Anhui provincial games in Wuhu, Anhui province, have stood on their own since a new mode of operation was adopted in 2010.

Built for the quadrennial provincial games in 2002, the 30.8-hectare Wuhu Olympic Sports Center is now more than just a place to watch sports competitions. Hundreds of residents take their morning exercise on the 5,000-sq m free-to-the-public fitness green from 6 am to 8 am before children arrive for athletic training programs after school.

Although high-level sporting events rarely take place in the city, the 40,000-seat stadium remains a popular spot in the evenings for young people to gather for entertainment shows or hang out with friends at outlet shops, restaurants and KTVs, which operate on the ground floor of the building.