Shenu is the Chinese's ethnic sport of firing arrows using a crossbow. It is quite an old traditional sport that has been popular for thousands of years in ethnic groups such as the Miao, Yi, Lahu, Lisu, and Yao.

Miao men practice shooting with the crossbow from boyhood and contests are often held. They use corn cakes and pieces of meat as targets and players who hit these receive them as prizes.

The winner with the best record usually receives other things as well as the high regard from the villagers. When they grow up and go out hunting and fishing, they will always take crossbow with them.

One of the reasons for the importance of this sport is that as these people live in a mountainous area where wild and often dangerous animals are frequently encountered.

Usually, a crossbow is made from the tough wood of the yansang tree that grows mostly in Hunan and Guangxi Provinces. The trigger is made out of cattle or goat horn. The larger bow is about 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) wide and 0.75 - 1 meter long (2.46 - 3.28 feet); and the smaller one is 1 meter (3.3 feet) wide and 0.5 - 0.7 meter (1.64 - 2.3 feet) long.

Generally, the effective range of the large bow is around 200 meters (656 feet), while the small one is around 100 meters (328 feet).

Bows may be used from either a standing or kneeling position. The sport requires considerable strength to draw back the string and put the bolts or arrows in place.

Often during festivals and galas, there will be crossbow contests among people of ethnic groups. The criteria lie in the distance and the accuracy. In the China's 2nd National Games of Minority Nationality's Traditional Sports in 1982, players from Yunnan and Guangxi Province performed this sport with excellent skills, and in the 3rd games, it formed one of the main competitions.