A moment in time: Popular sports

Public activities on Beijing's streets always gather a crowd. In the picture above, a man teaches a boy to keep goal in 1981. The crowd around them reflects the widespread enthusiasm for soccer that existed then. An interest in soccer still thrives, but many rival sports have taken root in China as a result of the reform and opening-up process. The photo on the right, taken in 2005 in Beijing's Wangfujing area, shows a group of young people fascinated by a dis play of skateboarding, a popular import from California.