The National Peasants' Games () were a quadrennial multi-sport event in China in which competitors from among the country's 750 million rural residents take part in sports, both conventional - including basketball, athletics, table tennis, shooting, xiangqi (Chinese chess) and tai chi, and traditional rural and Chinese activities, such as wushu, dragon boat racing, lion dancing, Jongo News, 27 Oct 08 tyre pushing, food-carrying, rice planting,The 6th National Peasants' Games in the city of Quanzhou, Daily Telegraph, image gallery kite flying, jianzi (kick shuttlecock) and tug of war. All of China's 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as Taiwan, were represented. Hong Kong and Macau usually sent observer delegations.
The Games emphasised recreation more than results, according to the official Xinhua news agency, and the event was claimed to be the world's only regular sports meeting for peasants. For the government, the Games "showcased the achievements made by the Chinese people in the 30 years of the reform and opening up to the outside world," in the words of Chinese Agricultural Minister Sun Zhengcai, at the opening of the sixth event. CRI English.com
There was a 2016 edition planned, but the event has since been discontinued.
History The first National Peasants' Games, held in Beijing in 1988, comprised seven events, all of them conventional sports: basketball, table tennis, Chinese-style wrestling (possibly shuai jiao), athletics, cycling, shooting and football.
At the second Games, in Xiaogan in Hubei province, the alignment with 'peasant activity' began. Traditional pastimes of xiangqi (Chinese chess) and tai chi were added, while football was omitted and shooting was replaced by the 'militiaman triathlon' (shooting, grenade throwing and a five-kilometre cross-country race).
The 1996 Games, in Shanghai, introduced dragon dancing as an event, and attracted foreign media coverage.
At the fourth Games, in Mianyang in 2000, dragon boat racing, kite flying and jianzi (kick shuttlecock) were added as events.
The fifth National Peasants' Games were held in October 2004 in Yichun, in Jiangxi province, with the participation of 2,560 athletes. At the event, which dovetailed with China celebrating "the year of sports in rural areas", angling and 'rice planting' were added to the roster.Fifth national peasants' games opensPeople's Daily releases top sports events in 2004
2008 Games The sixth Games, held in Quanzhou, in eastern Fujian Province, began on 26 October 2008 with around 3,500 competitors taking part in 15 sports and over 180 events. Entrance to all events was free to spectators.
The event involved the construction or renovation of 15 stadiums at a cost of nearly $1 billion, including a new 32,000-seat venue, the Haixia (Straits) Stadium, used for the opening and closing ceremonies.
A new event in 2008 was Yangko dance, a traditional folk dance popular in China's northern provinces.Sixth Chinese National Peasants' Games open in Quanzhou, Sina.com
Editions
National Peasants' Games (Xinhua), 25 October 2008# Year Host City Sports Athletes1 1988 Beijing 7 –2 1992 Xiaogan, Hubei 8 2,2003 1996 Shanghai 9 –4 2000 Mianyang, Sichuan 12 –5 2004 Yichun, Jiangxi 13 2,5606 2008 Quanzhou, Fujian 15 3,5007 2012 Nanyang, Henan – –8 2016 discontinued
See also All-China Games China National Youth Games National Games of China Sport in China
References
External links The Sixth Chinese National Peasants' Games - official website