A district in China's Nanjing offers up to 100,000 yuan housing subsidies to marathon runners

A district in China's Nanjing is offering housing subsidies of up to 100,000 yuan to marathon runners, the latest efforts by local governments in the country to revive the property market that has been sluggish for more than five years.

The Qixia district of the city in Jiangsu is giving registered runners of the Nanjing Xianlin Half Marathon a 20,000 yuan discount, participants a 60,000 yuan reduction, and finishers a 100,000 yuan subsidy toward purchasing new homes in 14 designated projects, according to an official WeChat post.

The half-marathon, which ended on Sunday, saw around 12,000 runners compete in the race. 

This offer, valid through May 31, aims to convert marathon "traffic" into real estate "retention," mainland media reported. 

This follows a similar trend in Wuxi, also in the province, which offered up to 80,000 yuan in discounts for its March marathon. Other regions like Hubei and Shaanxi have also adopted these cross-industry marketing strategies, as local governments leverage high-profile sporting events to stimulate the property market.

There were nearly 600 marathons held in China last year.