Tai chi pitched for UNESCO list

For residents of Chenjiagou village, the birthplace of tai chi, a more than 10-year wait to see the martial art recognized globally as intangible Chinese heritage could soon be over.

China has nominated tai chi for inclusion in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, with a final decision to come late this year.

The application, made by Wenxian county in Henan province, has been in the making since 2006, when the country drew up its first national intangible heritage list and included tai chi, said Zheng Aizhen, chairman of the Wenxian committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top policy advisory body.