(ECNS) -- The 2026 International Wudang Tai Chi Culture Festival opened in the Wudang Mountains in central China's Hubei Province on Saturday, drawing martial arts enthusiasts, Tai Chi practitioners and tourism representatives from across China and abroad.
Wudang Mountain is the birthplace of Wudang martial arts. Globally, 57 Wudang martial arts promotion centers have been established. Together, they reach more than 150 countries and regions and have trained more than 3 million overseas students and encouraged more than 500 million people to practice Tai Chi.
This year's festival is themed "Wudang of the World, Tai Chi of Humanity." Outside the venue, over 100 Chinese and foreign Tai Chi enthusiasts performed together. The opening ceremony featured music, poetry, dance, theatrical recitation and performances combining people and machines, illustrating Wudang Tai Chi culture's emphasis on harmony in diversity and inclusive coexistence.
Zhu Shanzhong, ambassador for the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), said Tai Chi's core concepts of yin-yang balance, the combination of hardness and softness, and harmonious coexistence align with humanity's shared pursuit of physical and mental health, world peace, inclusive coexistence and sustainable development.
He said the UNWTO would use its platform and resources to help Wudang Mountain broaden its channels for international exchange and cooperation.
The three-day festival will also feature creative markets, exhibitions of local products, shopping promotions for tourists and Tai Chi community outreach activities.
(By Tang Yuxian)
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