The Fifth Xingyi Quan Exchange Conference was opened in Taigu county of Jinzhong, Shanxi province, attracting 75 delegations consisting of 638 participants from China and overseas, chinanews.com reported on August 15.

The conference started on Aug 14, and will run until Aug 16. All the contestants will take part in 19 different boxing competitions.

Xingyi Quan, or "Mental Form Boxing", originates from Taigu county of Shanxi province. Due to its concise moves and swift actions, Xingyi Quan was honored as one of China's four types of boxing with Shaolin boxing, Taiji boxing (shadow boxing) and Eight Trigrams Palm boxing. In 2008, it was listed as one of China's cultural heritages.

"To practice Xingyi Quan can not only make people healthier, but it can help people maintain a calm and peaceful mind" said Oscar, a 28-year-old man from Mexico taking part in the competition.

As a fan of Chinese films and Kungfu star, Li Xiaolong, Oscar started to learn Xingyi Quan since he was a boy in his native Mexico. Now he is studying a postgraduate course at Beijing Sport University.

Oscar showed great confidence during the contest telling the media that for the past 18 years, he would spend at least two hours every day practicing boxing. He also claimed he would continue trying to popularize the sport when he returned to Mexico.

Li Guoliang, an expert on Xingyi Quan, stunned the assembled guests with a performance at the opening ceremony.

Li, 74, is the third generation to master this technique. For the past twenty years, he has made great efforts to collect and summarize data on Xingyi Quan and promoted it to the public in places such as parks, schools, and local communities. He also offers free lessons to people who are interested in Xingyi Quan.

Shanxi is known as China's home of martial arts, with around 30,000 to 40,000 people practicing Xingyi Quan there each year.

Xingyi Quan enthusiasts perform at the the Fifth Xingyi Quan Exchange Conference held in Taigu county of Shanxi province. [Photo/Xinhua]