2008 people joined a tug-of-war in central
China's Hunan province on Sunday, January 6, 2008, in anticipation
of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. [Photo:sina.com.cn]
On January 6, a tug of war competition with 2,008 participants
was held in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan Province. Cheered
on by an Olympic champion, many television hosts as well as stars,
the competitors staged their trial of strength, the local
newspaper?Xiaoxiang Morning Post reported.
Most of the participants were the college students from Hunan
University. "The 2008 competitors" was specially designed to
welcome the upcoming Olympics?in Beijing, by displaying young
people's enthusiasm towards the Games and also symbolizing a
promising China with vitality in 2008, said the organizers.
?
A special rope was made for the competition, weighing three tons
and spanning 1,000 meters. The producer, a cable factory in Jiangsu
Province, adopted up-to-the-minute polypropylene materials for its
production. The rope has gone through a ten-step testing process;
it can sustain a 200-ton pulling force, which qualifies it for a
tug of war competition between 20,000 participants.
(China.org.cn by Yang Xi January 7, 2008)