Lijiang hosts intl Wushu culture festival

The 2017 China (Lijiang) International Wushu Culture Festival is underway in Lijiang, Southwest China's Yunnan province. The sporting event takes place from Aug 27 to 28, in conjunction with the International Health Qigong Grand Prix.

China has a long folk traditional martial arts history. Wushu is Chinese for traditional martial arts . Qigong is also traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance qi, translated as "life energy", with roots in Chinese medicine, philosophy, and martial arts.

A show featuring Chinese traditional martial actions takes stage in Lijiang on Aug 27. [Photo by He Zhanhui/xinhuanet.com]

The two-day event aims to strengthen exchanges on sports culture between China and other countries and build a platform for qigong lovers from home and abroad.

Approximately 36 representative teams have been selected for competition in two sports–health qigong and wushu.

The Wushu Culture Festival is large in scale and has a profound influence around the world. More than 10 countries, including the United States, Russia, Vietnam, Singapore, Switzerland, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, Kosovo and France have shown interest in the festival.

The qipao or cheongsam show is performed on the opening ceremony of 2017 China (Lijiang) International Wushu Culture Festival. [Photo by He Zhanhui/xinhuanet.com]

Wu Guokun, a local government official, said, "Lijiang endeavors to build an event which will be a new calling card of the city’s culture. The event is not only a feast of Chinese traditional martial culture but also can help promote the city’s sports industry and image."

Lijiang also emphasizes cultivation of young martial arts lovers. The event sends many coaches to local kindergartens to teach the children basic sklls and wushu gymnastics.

Dancers dressed in local ethnic costumes perform on the opening ceremony of 2017 China (Lijiang) International Wushu Culture Festival. [Photo by He Zhanhui/xinhuanet.com]

Edited by Anish Pandey