With summer vacation underway, sports have emerged as a top activity for children across Taiyuan, the capital of north China's Shanxi Province, drawing crowds to venues throughout the city.
Local gyms and stadiums have introduced special summer courses tailored specifically to young people. These programs combine foundational skills training with posture correction and overall conditioning, aiming to support healthier physical development. Yu Jifeng, a badminton coach in the city, described his busy summer schedule.
"Throughout the summer, we get around 50 to 100 students a day. Exercise not only boosts their fitness but also helps them grow healthier and develop better," he said.
But it's not just energetic children filling the courts. Many middle-aged and elderly residents are also working up a sweat.
For a growing number of locals, staying active throughout the summer has become a lifestyle choice.
Venue staff say the busiest times are late afternoon and evening, when courts are in particularly high demand.
Summer fitness fever heats up in north China city
A bomb disposal robot competition was held in the city of Urumqi in northwest China's Xinjiang Tuesday as part of a national special police contest which opened a day earlier.
In the competition, contestants operated wheeled or tracked robots to cross obstacles and dispose of simulated explosives.
"During real operations, we select robots based on different types of terrain. Large robots have a high center of gravity when climbing stairs, making them prone to tipping forward or sideways. Small robots are more stable on stairs and have better mobility, but their grip strength is weaker than large robots," said Zhang Haijun, a contestant from the Xinjiang special police team.
After clearing obstacles, grabbing simulated explosives in an accurate and safe manner with the mechanical arm posed another major test for bomb squats. The slightest errors in force or angle could trigger danger in real life situations.
Bomb unit officers say they routinely practice controlling the robots to grab all kinds of objects to practice their handling.
"During daily trainings, we use raw and cooked eggs for practice. We started with hard objects, then gradually progressed to ping pong balls and eggs to improve our skills," Zhang explained.
Chinese special police hold bomb disposal robot competition
