Feature: Swing, beaver and blooming flower

by sportswriters Dong Yixing and Yang Boyi
SANYA, China, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) — With more than two minutes left on the clock, Hongtusi Han Dukai and her partner Gulhayat Mamit, hailing from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, decided to stop swinging, and their final score was recorded at 61 bell touches.
“I’ve never experienced this kind of failure before; it’s particularly regrettable,” Hongtusi said after making her fourth appearance at China’s National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities in Sanya, Hainan Province on Saturday. “It’s super easy for us to reach 140 or even 150 during our training.”
As the first pair to compete in the women’s doubles 55kg bell-touching competition of the swing event, 23-year-old Gulhayat admitted she was “very nervous” before stepping on the swing, but then calmed down as Hongtusi reminded her, “Don’t be nervous, keep up with my rhythm, and just listen to me.”
The swing, commonly known as “dangqiuqian” in Chinese, is popular in northeast, central south, and southwest China, and boasts a long history. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, which dated back to more than 2,000 years ago, swinging was highly fashionable in the palace. In 2006, the swing was listed in China’s first group of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects.
Becoming an official competition event in the third National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities in 1986, the female-only swing competitions are divided by weight categories into below 55kg and above, and further divided into height competitions and the bell-touching competitions, with both singles and doubles events available in each method.
For the doubles bell-touching competition, two athletes stand face-to-face on a 40cm long and 10cm wide footboard of the swing, swinging to touch a bar with bells that usually stands 7.2 meters high and 8.5 meters away, hanging under another swing frame. Athletes who touch the bells the most times during the 10-minute competition win.
“I think swinging is the hardest of all the events. There’s no break during the 10-minute competition, and there’s no space to relax. You have to train for a long time to adapt to the ropes; endurance, strength and physical fitness are all required,” explained Hongtusi.
Xinjiang was among the earliest in China to begin the swing event, a niche traditional sport of ethnic minorities, in 1991. “Xinjiang currently has 10 regions conducting swing sports. Due to the high requirements for safety, equipment and venues, only about 20 or 30 people in Xinjiang can consistently train year-round,” introduced Li Yuanchao, coach of the Xinjiang team.
“In the past national competitions, there were only eight or nine teams. This year, the size of participation is the largest ever with 16 teams. It seems that all the different regions and provinces are beginning to pay attention to swing sports,” Li said, expressing his pleasure to see the growth.
Born in Hami to Han ethnicity parents, who came to Xinjiang in 1949, Li switched from track and field to the swing event in 2002, as “there was a shortage of swing coaches at that time.” Over the years, Li has trained a number of swing athletes for Xinjiang, including Hongtusi and Gulhayat.
“I practiced middle-distance running when I was young and performed particularly well. Later, as I got older, I heard about the swing event and started participating in swing competitions,” said Hongtusi, a Kazakh from the Altay region. “At first, I was very afraid to get on the swing frame, but after practicing for over 10 days, I wasn’t scared anymore.”
Likewise, Gulhayat, who is of Uygur ethnicity, also switched from middle-distance running to the swing. But unlike her older sister, Gulhayat felt “not afraid at all” of the sport. “It’s quite fun; after I started training, I began to like it more and more.”
In 2022, both Hongtusi and Gulhayat participated in Xinjiang’s ethnic minorities sports games and then paired up for the Games in Sanya. Despite only starting to train together three months ago, the new duo quickly developed a good rapport, improving their performance despite a 20-year age difference and juggling different daytime jobs.
“Given their physical fitness and skill level, they are capable of lasting until the end. They could have performed even better,” Li said. Ultimately, Hongtusi and Gulhayat took third place.
In the Kazakh language, “Hongtusi” means “beaver,” while in the Uygur language, “Gul” translates to “flower.” A Han Chinese coach, a veteran Kazakh athlete, and a newcomer from the Uygur community – three individuals from different ethnic groups – have come together through sports to form this wonderful trio as part of the celebration of their cultural heritage.
“Hongtusi is my respected older sister. Coach Li is like a father figure to us, and he cares for us deeply. We have a very good relationship,” Gulhayat shared. ■