170 CultureShock! ChinaProbably the most popular pastime in China is massage. It
is not unusual for an enthusiast to spend two or three hours
a week receiving a massage. The most common form of
massage to be found in China is foot massage. It is believed
that each part of the body is connected to a section on the
foot. A foot massage helps adjust those parts that are out
of alignment.Sports
Football (or soccer) has to be the national sport of China.
Regardless of age or sex, the Chinese love football. Each
major city has a team. University fields are never empty, as
there are adult leagues that play on weekends. China comes
to a standstill during every World Cup. In Shanghai, a city
of approximately 16.6 million people, during a lazy Sunday
afternoon of the 2002 World Cup, every major play was
announced with an eruption of cries echoing through every
street of the city as people were glued to their television
screens. In the late 1990s, before air-conditioning was
common in Shanghai, people used to take to the streets
in their pajamas, huddled around a shared television. Taxi
drivers would stop their cars in the streets to watch football,
grinding traffic to a complete halt.
Yao Ming has done much to make basketball one of
the favourite sports in China. The NBA now has a solid
presence in the country. There are city teams and university
teams. It is easy to play a pick-up game of basketball at any
university court.
Tennis is viewed as a sport played by the elite. Many senior
government officials in China are tennis enthusiasts. There
are a number of tennis clubs in most major cities, and most
modern living compounds have tennis courts.
Car racing has also become
a craze in China, although less
is known about the actual sport
than about the brands involved
in it. With the opening of
Shangahi’s Formula One Track,
any red sports car has becomePlaying Golf
Golf is also a sport that has taken
off in recent years. A number of
signature courses have been built
across China. Golf tournaments
in China are now included in
professional tours.