Tree climbing as PE fashion in campus

A student of Xiamen University tries to climb tree under a teacher's watch during a course in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, Oct 18, 2012. Tree climbing is available as part of the physical education program at the university. [Photo/CFP]

XIAMEN - South China's Xiamen University is the first one in the country to open a brand new PE course named tree climbing, which attracted numerous attention.

As the new semester begins, the course is in fresh demand. Only one out of 10 students can be lucky enough to have the class. Tree climbing is known as an outdoor sport with the skills of rope knots and other equipment.

Xinhua reporter happened to see the teachers' training. With helmet, blinkers, ropes and hooks, they were like Spidermen shuttled between trees, up and down.

Fu Zhengchao, a student in Xiamen University, is curious about the class and keeps watching the teachers' training for a long time. He could not help himself trying.

"I climbed trees when I was a little kid. I did not use any equipment then. The lesson is different. It is fresh for me," said Fu.

Teachers of Xiamen University display how to climb trees during a course in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, Oct 18, 2012. Tree climbing is available as part of the physical education program at the university. [Photo/CFP]

Wu Feiteng, head coach of Sport Department of Xiamen University, said tree climbing is originally a job to protect the tree and to make the tree grow well.

"For example, people need to climb the tree to exam the plant and to cut off the unnecessary branches and leaves. As a sport item in university, tree climbing needs particular attention to keep balance and can exercise our bodies and minds," said Wu.

The course has aroused a heated discussion on the Internet. Some netizens raise many questions. Such as, is the course dangerous? Will the course harm the trees? Is the course expensive?

Wu explains that all the misunderstandings come from the unfamiliarity about this sport. Tree climbing as a sport item is not to climb a high tree with our hands only.

"Tree climbing has its protection system. The ropes could bear the force of more than two metric tons. We also exam the tree we are going to climb before the lesson," he said.

He also explains that the course does not need too much money. "We do not have to build an arena. All we need is trees in the campus or parks and some professional equipment which can be used for five to ten years," he said. "An entire package of equipment for our lessons only costs 5,000 yuan ($800.32). It is relatively economic for a brand new lesson."

Luo Tengkun, a member of Mountaineering Association of Xiamen University, has teaching task in the tree climbing. He said that there were four classes with 15 students each.

Luo introduces that there are three sections in tree climbing class, which are climbing skills, escaping techniques and competitive games.

Besides the tree climbing, many other outdoor sports are becoming popular among students, such as rock climbing, hiking, mountains climbing and boat sailing.