Tree climbing has been officially added as an event to the 12th edition of National Ethnic Games, concluding a two-day contest at Southwest University Sanya Middle School on Sunday. The host Hainan swept the men's and women's titles in a sport that originated from the daily labor of local people in Hainan who climb trees to pick coconuts.

Coconut tree climbing is exactly what it sounds like: participants have to ascend a rather narrow looking piece of timber in the quickest time and hit the button at the top. It's a race against time and a battle of techniques. And since this sport's most important apparatus is unique to Hainan province, its no wonder the locals are pretty good at it.

Luo Jun of the Li Minority claimed the men's title in a time of 6.188 seconds, and Fu Shijun, of Han ethnicity, won the women's title in 6.663 seconds. Both are from Hainan and were delighted to have the chance to show case their abilities in front of a home crowd and promote their sport.

"I'm so excited. I have dreamed of winning the title, but never expected that dream to actually come true. I’m beyond happy and I’m thrilled. In Hainan, us locals usually climb trees to pick coconuts when we want fresh coconut water. For this event, a coconut tree climbing race was added, and now everyone is learning about the sport. It’s a fantastic way to promote and raise awareness of Hainan's traditional sports," said Luo.

"I'm a sprinter, and I believe my training has helped build my explosive power, which gives me an advantage in the race. When I was younger, I always wanted to climb trees and pick coconuts to drink fresh coconut water, but I didn't have the strength to do it. Now that I'm stronger, I decided to try the sport and fulfill that childhood dream. Winning the first-ever title at home feels incredible, especially because I can bring glory to Hainan," said Fu.