People ride skeletons on Tuesday at the launch of an ice and snow festival at Yuyuantan Park in Beijing. The event will run until Feb 25.Liu Ping / For China Daily

A report released on Tuesday by the General Administration of Sport shows preferential policies and a growing public awareness about fitness have helped the industry develop at a steady pace, especially the manufacture of sporting goods.

The gross industrial value stood at 1.7 trillion yuan ($245 billion) at the end of last year, indicating average year-on-year growth of 21 percent since 2011, the report said, citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics.