# Forum Other Languages All other languages Chinese  Badminton

## Pravit

It has occured to me that the entire badminton club of my university is composed of Chinese people, give or take a few. Why is this sport(along with ping-pong) so popular among Chinese?

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## brett

For table-tennis, I think I've solved the mystery;  ::  
Maybe because having so many people, China doesn't have enough space to fit real life-size tennis courts, so instead they made little ones to put on their kitchen tables.  :P    ::

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## Pravit

But then it would make no sense why they have so many badminton courts. Maybe shuttlecocks are easier to mass-produce than tennis balls, or something.  ::

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## waxwing

They also like to use a thing that looks a bit like a shuttlecock, it's larger, and they kick it and try to keep it up in the air as long as possible.
Other activities they like: skipping rope ( I mean young adults in big groups) - maybe it's just a recent craze, and my favorite, get up early in the morning and go jogging with them, and you'll see people walking backwards   ::   
It's difficult to explain why one culture prefers one sport over another. Football (soccer) is popular all around the world, I think that's because it needs so little in terms of equipment. I saw villagers in northern Thailand playing it with a ball made out of leaves or something  ::  
Football has some popularity here, but basketball is the guys' sport of choice.

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## Pravit

> I saw villagers in northern Thailand

 You were in Northern Thailand? Northern-northern or northeast? Geez, man, I shoud just toss my EE degree and travel the world as an English teacher like you. Don't you have a degree in nuclear physics, BTW?   ::

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## waxwing

> I saw villagers in northern Thailand
> 			
> 		  You were in Northern Thailand? Northern-northern

 Northern-northern (Chiang Mai area). This was years ago, but I'll always remember that image of the universality of footie  ::    

> Geez, man, I shoud just toss my EE degree and travel the world as an English teacher like you.

 Delai shto zahochesh  ::    

> Don't you have a degree in nuclear physics, BTW?

 Yes, my MSc is in unclear physics. It has been used sparingly  ::

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## brett

> Yes, my MSc is in unclear physics. It has been used sparingly

  *Un*clear physics?!!!   ::   
I practice that, as... I got 35%.

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## waxwing

It was my little joke Brett .. I had a feeling people might think it was a misprint ..  :: 
Actually I've seen a sign recently somewhere on the net - it's a road sign in China and it says in English "Unclear power plant .. 8 miles"   ::

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## Friendy

Waxwing, did you read the book Физики продолжают шутить? ::

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## JJ

> Yes, my MSc is in unclear physics.

 Ядрёная физика?  ::

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## waxwing

Well, that would be a good translation  :: 
But I think I prefer the English one, it's somehow "scarier" ...

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## brett

> It was my little joke Brett .. I had a feeling people might think it was a misprint .. 
> Actually I've seen a sign recently somewhere on the net - it's a road sign in China and it says in English "Unclear power plant .. 8 miles"

 Ah OK  ::  . Well, my comment still stands - I practice UNclear physics, and I am excedingly proficent at it.

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## DDT

I think that UNclear physics in the Chiang Mai area is usually referred to as poppy growing.

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they don't use badminton courts in china...they play anywhere and everywhere here...seriously... 
on the sidewalk in front of your apartment building, around your apartment complex's grounds, in front of stores, in front of your school, at your school, in front of restaurants...i've seen em playing about everywhere...basically, anywhere where you can stand and hit a birdie at another person... 
and never a net between them...have yet to see a single net in the 14 and 1/2 months i've been here...

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## brett

No net, huh? So they're just a bunch of peace-loving hippies playing hackey-sack? How cute!   ::

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## Indra

*Friendy*, я не знаю как waxwing, а я так давно хотела найти "физики шутят" в интернете.   ::   ::   Спасибо!

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## waxwing

I play badminton all the time now. I have been assimilated...

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