Traditional sport has a real tug of appeal

Just like Chinese athletes who are striving to win gold medals at Tokyo Olympics, 12-year-old Wang Zihan has won a competition named Lapaniu, with concentrated effort.

Lapaniu is a traditional sport of the Yugur people, an ethnic group of nomads living at the foot of the Qilian Mountains in Northwest China's Gansu province. Similar to tug-of-war, this sport requires players to wind a rope around their waist and crawl forward.

Zihan is at the very top among his peers in the game with a taller height and greater strength.

"It's challenging and great fun. It has become essential entertainment in our summer vacation," he says.

Evolving from traditional grassland entertainment, the nomadic sport has been passed down generations, according to Yugur PE teacher Wang Yanjun, adding that rules have been standardized and equipment has been improved so that more students can play the sport under safer conditions.

In Lapaniu, the one-versus-one format has extended to a team battle and the length of rope has been shortened, based on the stature of primary school students. Teachers have also tied the soft pads used in other traditional sports in case the children get hurt.

"The traditional sport can be played anywhere with simple equipment. It has gained in popularity among young people, lighting up their summer life on the grasslands in remote mountain areas," says Wang Fugui, deputy director of a primary school in Sunan Yugur autonomous county in Gansu province.

Yugur people still maintain the lifestyle of keeping cattle and sheep as a main source of income. Every summer, they herd on high mountain pastures far from downtown areas, and for the children who accompany their families, the grassland is more like a "moorland" of recreation.

"Young people now have more things to do on the grasslands," says 12-year-old Lan Rui, a big fan of Lapaniu.

Every holiday, Rui would invite some of her peers or relatives to have a race.

She says she had unconsciously exercised her muscles and increased her endurance through the training, and hoped such sports can be an official Olympic event one day.

Kelsang Lhamo, a Tibetan girl, is one of Rui's classmates. She says playing traditional sports has helped her to be more outgoing and make more friends.

The Qilian Mountains, sharply defined under the shining summer sun, rang with the laughter of the youths.

"The traditional sporting culture of ethnic groups is an important part of China's cultural heritage. It plays an active role in improving physical and mental health, as well as in strengthening friendship between one another," says Wang Fugui.