HARBIN, China, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Three simple sticks striking each other might be a way for Chinese people to exercise.

Zheng Xiping is 67 years old and lives in Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province. Every evening, he would play Huagun by the Labor Lake in Qiqihar City with the small iron sticks spining and jumping in his hands.

Huagun, a popular activity among the elderly people in China, consists of three sticks about 60cm long. When playing Huagun, people use the two sticks in each hand to hit different parts of the third stick to change the trajectory of the stick, so as to achieve the purpose of exercising.

"Playing Huagun can not only exercise a person's reaction ability but also benefit the mental health," said Zheng, who has played Huagun for almost 10 years and now often teaches others for free in the park.

56-year-old Lu Shuhui is one of Zheng's students. After Lu retired, she soon fell in love with playing Huagun with music and even sewed ornaments on both sides of the sticks to make them move more visually.

"This sport is very entertaining," said Lu. "I hope more and more people can enjoy it."