Parkour hits the streets of China

Did you know China had a burgeoning parkour scene? We didn't either until 56minus1 discovered a bunch of online Chinese parkour groups, communities and forums.

Parkour, sometimes known as freerunning (though freerunning and parkour enthusiasts insist the two are different), is an activity that focuses on moving from one point to another “as efficiently and quickly as possible,” according to its Wikipedia page. The movement was started by the French at the turn of the century, but has gained popularity recently all over the world.

Still, we hadn't realized the phenomenon had hit China outside of Jackie Chan martial arts movies... though I guess we should have - China Daily reported on its popularity amongst Chinese youths in January. Head to 56minus1 for a comprehensive list of Chinese parkour artists showing their skills on Youtube, Youku and Tudou (the video is of a group in Xinjiang).

(One small note: Shanghainese parkour groups are noticeably absent from the list of videos. What's with that? Upload your parkour stunts, guys, we know you're our there!)