Experience and Lessons Learned: Progress of Fitness Trails in Developed Countries and China’s Construction Path

This study aims to develop a national fitness trail system that is tailored to the country's unique characteristics. This study analyzes the emergence and construction progress of fitness trails in developed countries, as well as the basic national conditions and practical difficulties in the construction of fitness trail systems with Chinese characteristics. The findings reveal that the development of fitness trail systems in developed nations has been influenced by factors such as the rise of “naturalism” and “protectionism” in Europe and America during the mid-19th century, as well as the sustained rapid economic growth in the West following World War II.Presently, fitness trail construction in developed Western countries has formed the characteristics of combining regional characteristics to build characteristic standard fitness trail, multiple cooperative management mechanisms, responding to the needs of the people and focusing on the characteristics of fitness trail construction. Taking into account the experiences of developed countries and China's national conditions, this study proposes several pathways for the construction of fitness trails with Chinese characteristics. These pathways include embracing the concept of Chinese-style modernization to guide fitness trail development,emphasizing regional development characteristics based on a standardized trail construction system, scientifically planning the layout of fitness trail networks to reflect Chinese characteristics, and creating high-quality, service-oriented fitness trails with a people-centered approach.