An elderly man performs his stunts in the Temple of Heaven Park in Beijing.(Photo/Sina Weibo)
You may have seen the remarkable kung fu skills in Chinese wuxia (martial arts) novels. Just like in the novels, a group of Chinese seniors is raising eyebrows with its stunning wuxia-like workouts that can put many young people to shame.
These exercise enthusiasts, most of who are retired and above 60, practice every day in the Temple of Heaven Park in Beijing in various kinds of extraordinary ways, according to bjnews.com.cn.
Geng Zhi, one of the seniors, is a 67-years-old retiree who used to work on an assembly line at a car parts factory. He can swing like the Spiderman on a horizontal bar and parallel bars in the park, and then torque his leg behind his head swiftly. "Before this, I didn't exercise at all," Geng said.
Liu Shuzeng, a 70 years old who has never had any kong fu training, has this skill of hanging upside down on the bars. He created a new way with hanging a belt on the bars and circling back and forth. He can even practice the skill while holding another man weighing 50kg.
Yu Songwang, who used to be a farmer, became obsessed with practicing contortions five years ago. He can perform side split easily and imitate the reptile.
According to the report, some of those kung fu grandpas have been practicing in the park for over 20 years and have plenty of adoring fans who keep coming to see their unbelievable training sessions.
Some of the gym equipment has been replaced in recent years, but horizon bars and ladders have been kept after the seniors' request. They practice every day even if it means spending an hour on commuting to get to the park.
