Murzin Denis from Russia was among the competitors. [China Daily]

At the same time, wushu, too, became a sport genre officially recognized by the IOC. Although wushu has failed to become an Olympic event, it has won increasing popularity among people, especially youths around the world, Wang noted.

For instance, over 100 million people in 120 IWUF member states in five continents are practicing tai chi and other Chinese martial arts, according to Wang.

A Taoist ritual offered a glimpse into the cultural heritage of Wudang Mountain. [China Daily]

"The championships offer a rare chance to promote many traditional Chinese martial arts that were previously unknown to the outside world," said Liu Jinzu, 73, a veteran fengshou quan master from Gansu province.

Fengshou quan (literally "hands blocking fists") is a time-honored martial art genre popular in Northwest China. It used to be a must-have, lethal technique for security guards who escorted caravans of expensive goods and jewelry.

As it was taught among selected disciples in secrecy and had a strict training system, the traditional Chinese wushu style is little known even to most Chinese kungfu practitioners, according to Liu, a retired technician who began learning kungfu from his father at the age of 7.

Australian James Singleton competed in the event of "drunken boxing". [Zhang Wei/China Daily]

There are still less than 200 people in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia who practice fengshou quan, said Liu who has invested much of his energy in training his grandson, Liu Kezhong, a 16-year-old silver medalist at the championships.

(China Daily November 6, 2008)