For the inhabitants of Nanyang, a city located in the southwest of the Henan province in China, last week was a good moment to show off their farming skills.
Even though there wasn’t any real planting, plowing or pig feeding involved, farmers and non-farmers could show their skills in traditional sports and sports inspired by the daily farm life alike. Among disciplines such as athletics, basketball, swimming and table tennis one could also participate in sports such as rice planting, kite flying, food-carrying or Yangko dance, a traditional folk dance.
The outfits of the hostesses have blue skirts that symbolize the sky and yellow and green tops, symbol colours for healthy crops.
Planting rice “requires real skill learned in the fields,” judge Li Jiaxi said for USA Today. “It’s close to the actual life of farmers, not like the elite, competitive sports that China is usually focused on.”
Heavy fruit were replaced with sand sacks but throwing them in a bag quicker than your opponents is no easy task.
All photos from China News.
