The is no park in China that does not come alive in the early morning with practitioners of Qigong. The official estimates on the numbers of Chinese citizens who practice in the parks ranges from 80 million to 200 million. This is nation wide wellness program of the public health ministry in China.
Many of the groups that practice in the parks are doing the practices for healing. One of the groups that is present in many of China's parks is the Cancer Recovery Association. In this group the instructors are former students who have elected to become teachers to "give back" to the community. In addition to doing Qigong daily in groups, they meet for supportive interaction called "social healing".
There is a myth that only older people do Qigong. However, many of the practitioners in the parks are young people. Usually the younger people tend to practice more vigorous methods, but not always. It is not unusual to see elders and young people practicing together.
One of the main forms of Qigong is Tai Chi which is familiar to many Americans. There are literally thousands of different kinds of Qigong including some forms that use fans, swords, staffs to express the beauty of the movements.
