More than 500 young martial artists from various provinces and regions of China, as well as ASEAN countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar, gathered in Nanning, Guangxi to compete and forge friendships through martial arts.

The 2026 Nanning-ASEAN City Youth Wushu Open Championship kicked off on October 2 and will run through October 3 at the Nanning Sports School in Guangxi. The event aims to promote friendship and deepen people-to-people bonds through martial arts exchanges.

The competition features two main categories: Wushu routines and Wushu sanda, divided into multiple age groups and covering bare-hand forms, long weapons, short weapons, tai chi, group events, and sanda bouts across various weight classes.

On the competition floor, participants showcased the fluid and graceful movements of traditional Wushu routines alongside the powerful clashes of sanda combat. Young martial artists from different countries demonstrated a spirit of courage, determination, and respect for martial virtue.

Wushu is an important vehicle of fine traditional Chinese culture and is widely popular in the ASEAN region. Martial artists from different countries used the tournament as an opportunity to learn from one another and build youthful friendships.

Cai Zhenlong, a university student from Malaysia who has been practicing tai chi for over a year, said he hoped to push his own limits at the competition and learn more from Chinese athletes about the essence of tai chi's balance of hardness and softness.

The event also includes parallel exchange activities, with young participants from ASEAN countries visiting primary and secondary schools in Nanning to take part in open Wushu classes, skills demonstrations, and friendship performances.

Nanning is accelerating its development into an international metropolis oriented toward ASEAN openness and cooperation. According to the Nanning Sports Bureau, the city will continue to host a range of youth sports events targeting ASEAN, using sports as a bridge to steadily strengthen the foundation of people-to-people exchanges between China and ASEAN.