Leisure has gradually become an important characteristic of the era. The urbanite today needs to relieve the fatigue, release the pressure and relax the mind after an intense day’s work or study. Nanjing is an ideal destination of leisure, boasting leisure and recreation venues and facilities such as cinema, theater, singing and dancing hall, gymnasium, body-building facilities, bars, restaurants, tea houses and cafés. The blend of catering, recreation and leisure streets best represented by Nanjing 1912 are developing rapidly. The big leisure areas include New Paradise, Shuimu Qinhuai, Lexing Tianxia, Deji Plaza and the New City Mall.

Nanjing’s physical culture is booming with mass sports activities and athletic games developing simultaneously. The city has 1,180 fitness clubs and holds more than 1,200 mass sports games every year. At the Beijing Olympics, Nanjing athletes made their best record by winning 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 1 eighth place. So far, altogether 23 athletes from Nanjing have won the title of world champions. The city holds over 20 national and international sports games every year, including chess tournament and others.