Sports for villagers

The third largest sports event after the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympics in the country this year, the Sixth National Farmers' Sports Meet that opened yesterday evening at Quanzhou, Fujian province, is unique in its name and style.

Such an event itself is a typical outcome of economic reforms, which started with the rural land responsibility system and greatly emancipated the initiatives of farmers. The first such event was launched in 1988, 10 years after the start of the economic reforms when the living standards of farmers were greatly improved.

Sport activities were definitely a luxury for the majority of Chinese rural villagers before 1978 when their life was an endless struggle to till the land for a hand-to-mouth existence. The economic hardships made it impossible even for many of their urban counterparts to afford paid sport activities.