The city of Rui'an in east China's Zhejiang Province will for the first time in its history host an international martial arts congress from Dec.25 to 27.

According to Zhejiang Sports Bureau, some 1,000 martial arts lovers from China and over 50 from countries like France and Germany are participating in the event, which is titled "Zhejiang International Traditional Martial Arts Congress & Zhejiang Traditional Martial Arts Competition."

Organizer says that the oldest participant of the event is an 87-year-old senior person from Jinhua Martial Arts Association.

(Zhejiang Online December 18, 2003)