Cool Running: How Parkour is Gaining Popularity In China

‘Parkour’ or ‘pao ku’ (cool running) in Chinese, is as an extreme sport that first originated in France. It is based on the idea of participants moving from one point to another as smoothly, efficiently and quickly as possible, whilst using the utmost abilities of their bodies. It is built on the philosophical premise that any obstacle, physical or mental, can be surpassed.

Parkour was introduced to China around 2006 and has only becomemore and more popular. Online communities such as chinapaoku and paoku help Chinese parkour fanatics interact by sharing pictures, videos, knowledge and experience.

March saw China hold its first fully fledged parkour contest in Beijing. Six teams participated in this competition with the “Urban Monkey” team from Beijing, eventually winning the top prize.

Clothing brand Jeanswest used parkour as the theme for their latest ads. The campaign was entitled ‘Parkour or running pants?’ (跑酷 or 跑裤? – a pun on the character ‘ku’ in Chinese).

Unlike many extreme sports parkour requires no expensive equipment or specific prior knowledge, so its potential for growth in China is limited only by landscape and participants. We at enoVate will track its growth with great interest.