China

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Since hosting the 2008 Olympics, there has been an almost patriotic fervor among Chinese citizens. Of course, the classic exercise forms are still widely practiced throughout the country and can easily be seen daily in public places where it’s common for people to gather in the morning to play badminton or ping-pong, do martial arts or even participate in ballroom dancing. Unfortunately, there are limited options for  organized sport in the country.

          The Chinese generally excel at small ball sports and are the world champions in table tennis; the same cannot be said for other ball sports like football or rugby. Despite this imbalance in their ball skills, football is widely popular as a spectator sport among Chinese men and CCTV5 regularly broadcasts the games of European leagues. Similarly, basketball is enormously popular among students and was already something of a national obsession prior to NBA star Yao Ming who rose to international fame and now plays for the Houston Rockets.

          Of course, martial arts remain China’s indigenous sport, which are hardly surprising when you consider the country’s history of civil unrest at times. However, despite the hundreds of styles of martial arts in China, the sport is mostly done now as a form of exercise rather than defense.

          Hiking is not really a conventional activity yet in China, but there are numerous steep staircases up the variety of holy mountains in the country where tourists can enjoy aerobic-type step exercise. Mountaineering in forests of Yunnan, Sichuan, Qinghai and Tibet as well as expeditions in four-wheel-drives have gained popularity among young Chinese adventure-seekers. Skiing is also popular and several ski resorts can be found in Dongbei.