China
in Sports
Many
historians believe that football originated in China, where a form of
the sport may have appeared around 1000 CE. Other popular sports include
martial arts, table tennis, badminton, and more recently, golf. Basketball
is now popular among young people in urban centers.
There
are also many traditional sports. Chinese dragon boat racing occurs
during the Duan Wu festival. In Inner Mongolia, Mongolian-style wrestling
and horse racing are popular. In Tibet, archery and equestrian sports
are part of traditional festivals.
Physical
fitness is highly regarded. It is common for the elderly to practice
Tai Chi Chuan and qigong in parks.
Board
games such as International Chess, Go (Weiqi), and Xiangqi (Chinese
chess) are also common and have organized formal competitions.
The
capital city of the People's Republic of China, Beijing, hosted the
2008 Olympic Games, a major international sporting event.
Source:
Wikipedia