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Feature: Chinese team participates in Spain's human towers contest

Xinhua, October 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Chinese team, "Els Xiquets de Hangzhou", or Children of Hangzhou, participated on Saturday in the 25th Concurs de Castells (human towers) held in the Mediterranean city of Tarragona, northeast Spain.

This is the first time a foreign team participates in this "Concurs de Castells", human towers with over 200 years of history and part of the Catalan tradition.

The Chinese team, which was in second place with 2,235 points in the second day of the contest held on Saturday, took part in it as an invited colla (group of people who build a castell). "Els Xicots Vilafranca" were in first place with 2,270 points.

"Els Xiquets de Hangzhou" built in the first round a human tower of three people per level in a tower of nine levels, a fact described by the local press as historical and received a standing ovation from the audience.

The competition reached a record participation of 45 groups this year and nine of them are new, including the Chinese team.

"Els Xiquets of Hangzhou" arrived in Spain on Tuesday and were received by the Catalan Minister of Culture, Santi Vila, and the Catalan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Institutional Relations and Transparency of the regional government of Catalonia, Raul Romeva, who congratulated the team for "being part of the castellers family."

"Els Xiquets of Hangzhou" were born in 2010 in the textile factory Antex, in Deqing, a town located 40 km away from Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province.

Chinese businessman Qian Anhua saw the castellers on a trip to Catalonia and decided to introduce the activity to China. In 2012 he saw the competition and had the idea of participating, Qian commented in an interview with Xinhua.

Its journey towards the Concurs de Castells in Tarragona was the story line of a documentary, "The Garden of the Peach Tree Flowers -- Els Xiquets of Hangzhou " presented last June in the city of Barcelona.

The "Castells" were declared Intangible Heritage by UNESCO in 2010. Endit