It is the third time the Taiwan sports delegation has come to the Chinese mainland for the Farmers' Games. This time their delegation included 54 people, 20 of whom were participants and the rest their supporters.

First staged in 1988, the National Farmers’ Games is held every four years. The previous four games were held in Beijing, Hubei, Shanghai and Sichuan.

During the six-day event, farmer athletes from all over the country compete in track and field events, basketball, table tennis, martial arts, Chinese wrestling, Chinese chess, shooting, grenade throwing, swimming and cycling.

Agricultural skills such as planting and fishing are also official events; as are traditional Chinese sports like lion and dragon dancing, dragon boat racing, kite flying and shuttlecock kicking.

The 60-meter seedling transplanting also went down well. According to the rules, athletes begin carrying two empty baskets on the shoulder pole. They have to put 300 plastic seedlings into the baskets half way along before running to the transplanting area to “plant” them into 300 holes on a soft wooden block. Spectators couldn’t help laughing as they saw athletes drop seedlings everywhere or unable to fill holes. Upon completion of the game, event staff and reporters tried the event for themselves, causing more laughter from the crowds.

Farmers from nearby counties and villages all swarmed to attend the games with their families. “I just finished reaping the rice and we have had a good harvest. So I have time to take my son here to have fun,” said cheerful Tan Fulin, who lives in the nearby village of Cihua.

Cao Zhonglie from Jiangxi Province impressed the spectators by fishing 1,110 carp in 4.5 hours. Eight robust women from a village near Beijing achieved their tug-of-war victory over a team from Sichuan in 30 seconds. They hugged each other excitedly after winning the game. “We started training in March. It’s too tiring. Now, our efforts are rewarded!”

The tire-pushing competition also attracted many people and inspired much laughter. Although some runners ran off-course behind their tires, spectators all gave them enthusiastic applause. “It looks easy, but it’s really hard to push the tire well,” said 40-something Wu Jingqiang from Taiwan after finishing the 100-meter race. “I never thought of winning a prize, participation is more important to me.”

Shot put and discus are regulars of track and field events whether in the Olympics or on a school sports day. However, organizers of the 5th Farmers Games transformed them into a “seedling” throwing competition in order to reflect the real-life activities of farmers. The specially designed plastic “seedlings” look just like the real thing, weighing one kilogram or two, for the male and female competitions respectively.

Although shuttlecock kicking is not an official event in the Olympic or Asian Games, it has attracted participation from many farmers and is developing rapidly in rural areas. According to referee Guo Xiancheng, over 20 provinces, cities and regions take part in shuttlecock games. With a population of 2.4 million, Dandong City in northeast China’s Liaoning Province has over 500,000 residents who exercise frequently by kicking shuttlecocks. Over 20,000 morning exercise shuttlecock kicking spots cover the city, with participants ranging from four to ninety years old.

According to Wang Deying, professor at Beijing Sports University, Chinese wrestling is a sport most suitable for the field; it needs no special flooring and is easy to play. Many rural areas have got involved with this event and both adults and children take part. No surprise then that it has become a highlight of many local festivals.

China has 900 million of farmers, almost 200 million more than the total population of Europe. For the past 20 years life for farmers has improved greatly, enabling them to shift some of their time from subsistence to recreation. For many who enjoy a better life now, sports have become indispensable.

Unlike most athletic events that test the limits of physical strength and stamina, the Farmers’ Games are in a sense more entertaining, less results-driven and closer to the daily life of farmers.

The 6th National Farmers' Games will be held in Fujian in 2008.

(China.org.cn by Wang Qian, October 23, 2004)