With 55 ethnic minorities and a population of about 2 billion, coupled with thousands of years of history, the Chinese have some of the more colorful and exciting traditional sports anywhere in the world.

Foremost of these traditional sports is Wushu (or more popularly referred as Kung Fu).

Modern Wushu is composed of two disciplines: taolu (forms) and sanda (sparring). It is fast becoming an international sport. In fact the International Wushu Federation holds the biennial World Wushu Championships. Wushu events are also held during Asian Games, East Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games.

With the Chinese people's reverence to the dragon, comes another popular Chinese sport - Dragon Boat Racing. It is believed that the sport started over 2000 years ago.

Dragon boat races are traditionally held as part of the annual Duanwu Festival observance in China. However, 19th century European observers of the racing ritual, not understanding the significance of Duan Wu, referred to the spectacle as a "dragon boat festival".

Meanwhile, Ethnic Chinese games include Gaoqiao (Stepping on High), Pao Xiuqiu (Throwing Silk Balls), Qiang Huapao (Firework-Catching), Bahe (Tug-of-War) and many more.

To promote ethnic Chinese games, a quadrennial meet known as the National Ethnic Games is held.

The National Ethnic Games were inaugurated in 1953 with the participation of athletes from only 13 ethnic groups. After a hiatus of 29 years, the second edition of the games was held in 1982, and since 1991 it was held every four years.

Truly, Chinese sports and ethnic games are starting to draw attention from enthusiasts all over the globe. tiyubocai.net is here to act as your comprehensive guide to these exciting and interesting games.