A place with a punch

Dayu village in Yongchun county, Fujian province, draws an influx of visitors for its martial arts tradition, natural landscape and folk culture. [Photo by Yang Feiyue/China Daily]

Everybody is kung fu fighting in Dayu village, where White Crane boxing originated. Yang Feiyue reports.

People are punching the air.

They're of all ages.

Some are armed.

That's often one of the first sights visitors encounter upon entering Dayu village in Fujian province's Yongchun county.

The small settlement holds huge esteem among practitioners of White Crane boxing, which is said to have originated here.

White Crane is the parent of the Wing Chun kung fu fighting style, which is featured in such blockbusters as 2008's Ip Man. The film features the life of Wing Chun master Ip Man, who teaches Bruce Lee.

Ip Man's real-life instructor actually learned kung fu in Dayu, says the village's chief, Zheng Peixin.

Folklore claims White Crane was created by a local woman named Fang Qi'niang in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Fang is said to have been inspired by the movements of the martial art style's namesake waterfowl. It's said to be a mix of soft and hard moves－as is the locomotion of a crane.

It's not easy.