The 200-meter rooftop running track at No. 2 Primary School in Zhejiang

Proving to everyone in the world that running tracks do not have to be on the ground, a primary school in China’s Zhejiang Province built a 200-meter track on top of its four-story building, the first of its kind in China, reported China Youth Net on September 2.

Citing “insufficient land” as the main reason for the rooftop track, the No. 2 Primary School of Chicheng Road of Tiantai County decided to turn the school’s oval rooftop into a running track. The rooftop space provides more than 3,000 square meters of space for students to play and exercise, China Daily said.

Opened on September 1, the track is designed to accommodate students from all 36 of the school’s classes, said headmaster Qiu Tianguo.

The outer glass wall can be seen on the edge of the rooftop from below.

“There is not enough space for students to exercise, so we decided to challenge the idea that playgrounds and tracks have to be on the ground,” said Ruan Hao, the chief architect of the track. The design is expected to offer a solution to other schools suffering from similar space constraints, he added.

As for the architectural integrity of the track, the school insists the design is safe. According to the school, the track has three protective layers:- an outer 1.8 meter glass wall, a green belt in the middle and an inner 1.2-meter tall stainless steel rail.

A model of the revolutionary design is currently on display at the 14th Venice International Architecture Exhibition, which runs from June to November. The winning designs will be revealed in November.

Photos: China Youth Net