Stone Lifting in Tibet

Every culture has it's own "meaning" for strength. Here are a few pictures from a stone lifting contest held at the 7th National Ethnic Games in Yinchuan, Northwest China's Ningxia Province. At the games, which are held every four years like the Olympics, over 3,700 ethnic athletes from 34 delegations competed. The rules of the stone lifting contest are a bit unlike most stone lifting contests you probably have ever heard of. Theses Tibetan giants lift the stones any way they can, either to hold in their arms, placed on shoulders or put up on their backs. They then walk in a circular path and the one who walks the most circles wins. The stone pictured is said to weigh 160 kg. To learn more about Stone Lifting in other cultures, check out Steve Jeck's book: Of Stones and Strength

---