ABSTRACT
In recent years, China has grown increasingly concerned about the wellbeing of its ageing population. As an ancient concept rooted in Chinese philosophy, yangsheng involves various forms of mundane care and activities that benefit self-preservation and appreciation of life. This chapter highlights the importance of locating senior citizens’ sport and physical fitness in a specific cultural and social context. It builds on critical engagements with elder health that deploys culture as an analytical toolkit and as ‘forms-of-life’. The chapter illustrates one of the author's ethnographic encounters with older adults frequently participating in various forms of yangsheng on a football pitch in northeastern China. It highlights that finding pleasure and accommodating to changes in everyday life are acknowledged to be an ideal way of growing old, during which participating in physical activities can enhance one's positive mindset. The chapter discusses how health-keeping through sports participation in old age carries culturally specific meanings.
