Traditional sports with distinct Chinese characteristics are
also very popular, including martial arts, taijiquan, qigong,
Chinese chess and Go or encirclement chess. Martial arts,
combining exercise and the arts of self-defense, enjoy great
popularity in China. Martial arts include bare-handed boxing as
well as offence and defense with equipment, both of which has
different schools and moves. Taijiquan, or Chinese shadow
boxing, combines control of body, mind and breath. It emphasizes
body movements following mind movements, tempering toughness
with gentleness and graceful postures. A system of deep
breathing exercises, qigong is a unique Chinese way of keeping
fit. It aims at enhancing health, prolonging life, curing
illnesses and improving physiological functions by concentrating
the mind and regulating the breath. There are varied
entertaining and competitive sports activities in the minority-
inhabited areas, for example, wrestling and horsemanship among
Mongols, Uygurs and Kazaks, Tibetan yak racing, eth