Boys play soccer at a campus in Hai'an, Nantong. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

The major historical TV drama Zhang Jian – The Legendary Entrepreneur has once again turned the spotlight on Zhang Jian (1853-1926), one of modern China's most influential industrialists and educators.

Nantong's emergence as China's "hometown of sports" is attributed in large part to Zhang's educational philosophy proposed in 1904, which emphasized the equal importance of physical, moral and intellectual education.

Under his advocacy, schools across Nantong introduced physical education classes, built modern playgrounds, and made soccer a standard part of the curriculum. Campus soccer in Nantong thus took root.

More than a century later, the sport has become an integral part of young people's everyday lives in Hai'an, a county-level city of Nantong. Today, Hai'an is home to 34 schools and four kindergartens that feature youth soccer training as a hallmark of their programs.

The county has also established a multi-tiered, city-wide soccer venue system that is designed for user convenience, catering to every need, from high-standard competition pitches to accessible community mini-fields, from dedicated campus training grounds to public sports spaces open to all residents.

In recent years, Hai'an has added 15 enclosed soccer pitches and three standard 11-a-side fields. Currently, the city offers three 11-a-side, three 8-a-side and eight 5-a-side fields for public use.