Shi Zihan, 11, from Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, is among the increasing number of students enrolled outside Hubei. With the sport as her passion, she hopes that tennis may help her to get admitted to a good university.

According to local media, since the Jingshan authorities started promoting tennis in the 1980s, public courts have been built in workplaces and communities, with none more than a 15-minute walk away.

Utilizing tennis training, matches and local resources like hot springs and ecological agriculture, Jingshan has drawn about 15 million tourists on average every year, according to official statistics.