Chinese hand games

The rattle drum is also a popular instrument used as noisemakers by street vendors, not only in China but also in Korea, Tibet, Taiwan, Mongolia, India, and throughout East Asia.

This is mainly due to the rhythmic, rattling sounds of the instrument, which are easy to draw attention with. Even today, we can still find these rattle drums at temple festivals and fairs, with a lot of stalls selling these pellet drums.

Click here to see some Chinese Rattle drum designs. Mainly, we try to get as many kicks as possible without dropping the jianzi. There are various techniques that have been developed over the years from simple kicking to acrobatic heading to powerful overhead kicks. A competitive, government-run game called jianqiu is played on a rectangular court divided by a net — like badminton with kicks instead of rackets—.

According to Chinese legends, Jianzi originated from an ancient game from the Han dynasty called cuju , so it has been around for more than 2, years. Today, Jianzi is gaining popularity all around the world including in the U. Click here to see some Chinese Shuttlecock designs. The toy will spin on a string, attached to two wooden sticks held in both hands. As the player grows in skills, the Chinese yo-yo can be played with a wide variety of tricks and techniques, similar to western yo-yo.

Back then, the yo-yos were made from bamboo or wood—both materials are still popular today in China—, but today the Chinese yo-yos are often made of the more durable plastic. Today, Chinese yo-yo performers are still often found in Chinese festivals, especially in the northern parts of China during the spring season.

Click here to see some Chinese Yoyo designs. There are many jump patterns to follow, and most of them have their own songs. As the jumper moves through the levels, the position of the string is raised from ankle to waist and finally to the chest, so the jumping will be more rigorous and difficult.

How to Play The two opponents sit or stand face-to-face. To begin the first round, the players must decide who will start. At any moment, the starting player Player 1 makes a hand motion and simultaneously calls out a number as Player 2 also makes a hand motion but says nothing. The hand motion options for both players at this simultaneous moment are: keep both hands closed, open your left hand only, open your right hand only, or open both hands.

So: If Player 1 guesses the correct sum of fingers shown, then she is halfway to a victory. To win, she must guess the correct sum twice in a row. If she guesses incorrectly, then it is immediately Player 2's turn. Either way, both players keep their hands where they are between rounds.

Calling any mathematical impossibility counts as a single loss for that player. The more nimble their fingers, the more skilled they would be at the loom and embroidery. Kite flying is a traditional Chinese pastime that was declared an official sport in Regular kite-flying competitions are held in several cities across China.

Tens of thousands of participants come from China and abroad to compete with their beautiful and colorful kites in all imaginable shapes and sizes. The Chinese jump rope resembles more of a giant stretched out rubber band. It is a thin piece of elastic rope that is loops around two pairs of legs. Unlike the Western jump rope, the object of this game is to hook your legs into the rope to form loops and patterns in a certain sequence. This is often accompanied by a rhyme or song.

As each level is completed, the rope is moved higher, making the patterns more difficult to complete. Though not a game, the Guo Guo is often seen as a toy for young children.

Thought to be symbols of good luck, these vibrant green crickets are often caught and trapped in whimsical containers. During the summer months, you can often see them being sold at markets in China. The other insect is a katydid.

The sculpture is on display at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. This particular game may offend some animal lovers, but it is quite popular in rural areas of China.

The crickets are made to fight until one runs from the other, stops chirping, or is thrown from the ring or even consumed by the other cricket. Many adults also participate in cricket fighting , and some even breed crickets specifically for battle. The cricket battling season takes place between August and September, as these insects rarely live through the fall season. Not only is it a national sport of China, but it is also fairly cheap in terms of setup and supplies. The tables used in ping pong are portable, and they can fold up to save space.

Ping pong is the most played recreational sport in China, with over million players.