The 9th World Wushu Championships opened on Sunday at the
Beijing Olympics Sports Center with a record entry of nearly 1,000
athletes from 89 countries and regions.
Liu Peng, president of Chinese Olympic Committee, opened the
6-day tournament. He was followed by a?magnificent Taijiquan
(shadowboxing) performance presented by one thousand Chinese
masters who illuminated the spectacular opening ceremony with the
theme "Wushu belongs to the world".
Li Lianjie (Jet Li), the well-known Hollywood Kung Fu star
appeared as?a special guest and delivered a speech to the
audiences; "I feel delighted that the Wushu Championship has
returned to our hometown and I hope?for the rest of my
lifetime that I can spread the spirit of Wushu - which includes
humanity, peace, harmony and wisdom into every corner of the
world."
Wushu derives from a wide variety of ancient Chinese martial
arts and is composed of two disciplines: taolu (routines)
and sanshou (fight).
For?the 9th world championship, taolu comprises 22
categories in which Taijiquan(shadowboxing) and Taijijian will be
adopted to?background music during the competitions for the
first time. Sanshou consists of 18 categories and is
divided into 11 men's classes and 7 women's?classes.
(Xinhua News Agency November 12, 2007)
