If you hear a sound like that of an over-grown rat, gnawing between the walls or above you, stop! This distinct, irritating sound is probably not animal-produced. In China, you will perhaps be hearing the grating, rasping sounds from human hands manipulating small objects for finger exercise. The use of objects demanding finger dexterity has long been associated with the development and maintenance of mental acuity. In fact, parents promoting the use of chopsticks as early as possible, when a child learns to feed him or herself, has been said to help the youngster's intelligence. It is believed that skillful handling of the slender eating instruments reflects one's intellectual ability. As we all move on in life, the challenge to maintain sharp thinking faculties remains a serious concern, and one is most likely to see the manual practice of finger exercising among senior citizens.

In northern Chinese provinces you may see elderly men holding two or three silver or bronze colored metal balls in one hand, absent-mindedly rotating these objects slowly producing soft clacking sounds. These balls, about the size of billiard balls, also may be wooden, black, or made of colorful marbled stone. However, in Beijing the use of special looking walnuts is perhaps more popular for these hand and finger exercises. The rasping, gnawing sounds are likely to be heard while you sit or stand near a passenger on the subway or a bus. In some instances, when your taxi driver is not preoccupied on a mobile phone during driving duties, he or she will even fondle those strange looking round or oblong objects while, hopefully, keeping the other hand on the steering wheel.

These "nuts" are called hetao, and their surfaces are usually dark and prune-like in appearance, with deep naturally rough etched lines that rise like a disorderly fresco of a wizened, extremely aged quality. The goal of the handler is to simply produce a smoother shiny surface through rubbing over time. Small hand-held objects, if not walnuts, may also be paired balls made of rock crystal, stone, glass or metal (stainless steel, bronze, or iron) with a smooth surface, and are called "mother-child' or "male-female" balls. They are manufactured in sizes suitable for all. It is said that the number of balls rotated in each hand may be gradually increased from two to as many as eight, as the user becomes more skilful.

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