Photo via ThePaper

How long does it take for you to remember a set of poker cards in random order? For Zhang Renzi, a 16-year-old student from southwest China’s Chongqing, the answer is within 32 seconds.

Zhang’s amazing memory was awarded the title of International Master of Memory at this year’s World Memory Championships.

Zhang’s burning interest in memory exercises can be traced back to his childhood, when he enjoyed memorizing maps and reciting ancient poems. After becoming a high school student, Zhang’s parents encouraged him to go through official memory training to further tap his potential.

However, the beginning was not easy as imagined. It took him weeks to adapt to the conditions and to narrow the gap between him and other participants.

Zhang strived to catch up and even surpass his peers. For example, they were asked to conduct 30 groups of practices a day, so Zhang set 40 groups as his standard, even in intense learning tasks.

His efforts finally paid off. In the first round of domestic preliminaries held this October, Zhang’s outstanding memory got him seven golden medals and two silver medals among a total of ten competitions, making him champion among his peers.

Not satisfied with the current results, however, Zhang said he wants to compete in the International Grandmaster of Memory, which is regarded as the crown jewel pearl of world memory championships.

Founded in 1991, the World Memory Championships sees thousands of competitors from more than 40 countries and regions every year. Since China started participating in this event, over 200 Chinese people have been awarded the title of International Master of Memory.