CHINA> Center
Better taste for Chinese farmers in sports
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-01 21:50


Artists perform during the closing ceremony of the sixth Chinese National Farmers' Games in Quanzhou, East China's Fujian Province, November 1, 2008. [Xinhua]

Life changed a lot that some sports designed for the Farmers' Games seemed to be out-of-date now. In the cycling events, all the bike used are the ordinary ones people ride in past daily life. But cyclists are now not familiar with its type while most audience went to watch the game by motorbikes and cars.

"We ride motorbikes in hometown," said one athlete. "Motorbikes, instead of bicycles, are now the first choice for transportation because of the well-paved roads within the villages and our better income."

In the seedling-planting race, some athletes even could not put the plastic seedling into the holes on the ground.

"That's not because we are fake farmers. The truth is that we use all kinds of machines to do farming," said Zhang Ping from the Shandong delegation. "Nowadays, it is not necessary for farmers to plant with their own hands. Machines do most of the jobs. I used to grow plants with my hands but now I almost forgot those skills."

Cao Pileng from Qiancai Village of Quanzhou, drove his car to watch the men's basketball matches everyday.

"Not because all the matches are free to watch, but for I like playing basketball," said Li. After the reform and opening-up, Li's family grew sea plants and became rich. He began to play basketball and often went to watch the matches of Fujian Xunxin, one team of the Chinese Basketball Association League. He still considered himself as a farmer but he also admitted that his life was almost as same as those peoples' in city.

Fan Liwei represented Sichuan Province in the shuttlecocks event. However she now lives in city and owns a sport-equipment shop. Fan left the rural areas years ago to hunt jobs in city. While she has her own business in city, most of her families are still living in the countryside.

Millions of Chinese farmers poured into cities to earn their living there in recent years and it's now quite hard to tell those people from city residents. With such trend going on, the world's only regular Farmers' games will probably become history in future.