The Chinese Farming Village Where Every Single Person Knows Kung Fu

Ganxi Dong, a small village hidden deep in the mountains of Tianzhu in central China, is gaining worldwide attention for its unusually skilled residents. Apparently, everyone who lives in the self-sustaining village is a martial arts expert!

OD reports that the Dong people, one of the 56 recognized ethnic minorities in China, pride themselves for having shunned the outside world in favor of local tradition. Apart from farming, every villager is well-practiced in the art of kung fu, each one pursuing a different style of the sport. They use a range of weapons including sticks, pitchforks, and their own fists.

The exact story behind the tradition is unknown, but the locals have a couple of theories on how it all came about. According to one, there was a time when the villagers and their livestock were regularly attacked by wild beasts. As a solution, a strong youth was selected from each family, to learn and develop martial arts. These young men invented moves that imitated dragons, snakes, tigers and leopards, and passed their knowledge to other members of their family. Each family specialised and trained in a different movement, giving rise to different strains of kung fu.