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You can see how the movements are designed to press the rubber ball into the paddle. Many of the complex movements involved the ball being inverted or barely held against the racket. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn]

If you've ever found yourself around Beijing's parks and public areas anytime between the early morning hours and dawn, you will see many of the city's elders enjoying their retirement. Many of them are dancing to music being played through a boombox while others are quietly practicing Tai chi or playing Chinese chess as their friends watch. Everyone seems to have an activity that they enjoy most. Another favorite is the easy going sport of rouliqiu.

Rouliqiu involves keeping a tennis ball-sized rubber ball balanced on net of a shuttlecock-sized racket. Aptly called Taiji "Tai chi" rouliqiu, the player maneuvers the racket through the air while elegantly spinning all the while balancing the rubber ball on the face of the racket. Twisting and turning, your mind, body, and the racket must remain in sync so that the ball doesn't fall to the ground. This truly embodies the ancient concept of Tai chi.

Beijing has begun to celebrate this sport with the Dongcheng district local government hosting the annual Beijing International Taiji Rouliqiu Exchange. Many large Taiji rouliqiu teams around 100 people and well as solo contestants assemble here to compete for a panel of judges' best award. They dance to music with traditional Chinese flairs containing pop influences or sticking to traditional backgrounds. Each competing group was different. Some were very large teams of elders who seem to have long been playing rouliqiu while others were teams of children dancing in their elders' footsteps. Amazing solo performer's wowed the crowd with their intense precision in performing complicated yet elegant dances all the while keeping the ball perfectly balanced on the racket.

One elderly man performed his segment by balancing the ball in racket on one hand while gracefully holding a birdcage in another. His arms swayed through the air as a very traditional tune played in the background. It was hard to discern what was more difficult, maintaining control of the birdcage or concentrating on the ball. Another elderly woman, who performed by herself, displayed her mastery of the sport by holding one racket, each balancing a ball, in both hands as she quickly danced to upbeat music. Larger teams were no less impressive. Every team was at a different level of mastery, but they all showed the same grace pertaining to the Tai chi nature of the sport.

Several of the teams included disabled individuals. Sun Wenjin is captain of the Beijing Dongcheng District Disabled Persons Taiji Rouliqiu team and she herself participated as a disabled individual. Sun has been playing the sport for 13 years and led her team of 20 participants to perform at Sunday's event. She said that on Sunday there were only 20 participants, but her team can call up to 100 or 200 people if they are performing at a larger event such as when they performed in the Bird's Nest stadium for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Paralympic Games.

Dongcheng's local government is pushing to spread the influence of this sport outside the borders of China. This year, the Beijing International Taiji Rouliqiu Exchange featured international teams from Russia and Japan. Clearly there is a vision for this sport to be experienced by more people, young and old, from around the world.

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