60岁天坛杠爷火了！美国人说，“中国的爷爷奶奶们比你们更健壮！” | Setting the bar high

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Duan Xianmin is a sturdy old man with determined eyes. Now in his 60s, he has spent the last 40 years enjoying the horizontal bar.

初见段献民，他身板挺直，眼神中露着英气。这位六十多岁的老人，玩单杠已经超过四十年。

People say that there are often "true masters" next to you. Before his retirement, Duan was an ordinary white-collar worker who lived in a forest of high-rise buildings. When he entered a park, however, he would reveal his true nature as a "superman” on the horizontal bar.

正所谓高手在民间，退休前，他只是一位企业白领，整天穿梭在林立高耸的办公楼中，过着中规中矩的生活。一到公园里，他就仿佛开启隐藏人格，成为上下翻飞的“杠上超人”。

"Everyone deserves the stage. Once I’m on the horizontal bar, it’s show time," he says.

“每个人都有展示自己的舞台，我这一辈子呢，这舞台就是这杠子。”

Pull-ups, circles, turns, handstands – all would gain applause from the people watching.

屈伸、回环、转体、反上倒立，都能引起围观群众的一阵阵喝彩。

At first, horizontal bar exercise was only a hobby for Duan. Every morning, he'd do circles on the bar to relieve stress. "When I turn, all my worries are cast away. I just enjoy the relaxing moment."

初练杠子时，段老只将它当作一种纯粹的兴趣爱好，每日晨起，在公园的一隅，在杠上旋转，帮助他抛掉所有压力。“在杠子上旋转时，一切烦恼都置之度外了，都放下了，就是在享受这个快乐，特别放松。”

Like square dancing, horizontal bar exercise has gradually become popular among China’s elderly population. People make friends and learn from each other during workouts.

渐渐地，和广场舞类似，杠子也成为中国老年人的一项健身潮流。以杠会友的圈子出现了。大家互相切磋请教，颇有江湖味。

"Whenever there's a horizontal bar, I’m excited to use it, especially when I learn a new trick; I run to try it out with my 'bar friends.' It makes me feel fulfilled for days.”

“一见到杠子就特别兴奋，就想上去比划两下，尤其是学会了一个新动作，赶紧就去找杠友切磋一下，特别有成就感，高兴好几天。”

Gradually, Duan turned the small group of horizontal bar lovers into a nationwide club of more than 400 members scattered throughout different cities. The sport is a hit with morning exercisers. And many groups from different districts in Beijing have become local celebrities, such as the Chaoyang Residents, Xicheng Dama, Haidian Netizens and Fengtai Persuaders.

在段献民的带领下，这个小圈子逐渐发展成一个遍布全国各座城市、四百多人的杠友协会，杠子这项运动在晨练场上声名鹊起，在网络上和北京四大王牌民间组织“朝阳群众”、“西城大妈”、“海淀网友”、“丰台劝导队”并驾齐驱。

Duan is very proud of what he has done.

谈到这儿，段献民从兴奋变成了骄傲。

As the club expanded, more people came to watch them exercise. They soon became celebrities. Moreover, their workout area near the Temple of Heaven became an attraction for foreign visitors. When asked how he feels about being famous, Duan jokes: "These grandpas are too playful fortheir old age!"

不仅仅杠友协会逐渐扩大，观看杠子运动的人也变多了，一个小小的晨练队伍突然变成了国际上的“网红大爷”团队，而天坛的这个健身区也成为了一个国外旅行团必来的景点。问及段老“走红”的感受，他骄傲地自嘲：“这些大爷们，这么大岁数了，还在这玩儿呢。”

Duan has plenty of free time in his retirement. He dedicates himself totally to the horizontal bar by making strict plans and learning from others.

退休后的他有了更多时间，一心扑到杠子运动上，不仅给自己列了严格计划去系统练习，还时常与杠友们切磋技艺。

 "I just can't stop doing it. And it’s always an attraction in the park.”

“练杠子，是我这一辈子也放不下的，咱得把这天坛的一景留住了。”

As the saying goes, "Keep training on the coldest and the hottest days." Horizontal bar exercise also requires persistence, like Chinese kung fu.

 “冬练三九，夏练三伏”。同中国功夫一样，坚持也是杠子运动的精神。

For Duan, the persistence is more about the vitality of life. He hopes to keep exercising near the Temple of Heaven, and show that the elderly can be lively, and their lives can be full of youthful spirit.

但在段老眼里，杠子更是一种对于生命活力的坚持。他希望能够守护着这天坛一景，希望更多的人看到，老年群体同样会保有鲜活的生命力，保有这种生生不息、朝气蓬勃的生活态度。

Alongside the 600-year-old Temple of Heaven, Duan has been exercising for 40 years. In the river of time, every single effort counts.The Horizontal Bar Grandpas may only be a flash in the pan. Their dedication, however, has enriched the area and the lives of the people in it.

六百年的天坛，四十年的杠子，如果跨越时间，每一个节点上的闪耀都在发挥光热。“天坛杠爷”可能只是网络上一时的欢呼，但“天坛杠爷”们积聚着一股力量，让中国的晨练场和退休后的老年人们的生活丰富多彩。

Cameraman: Yang Wenchao, Wang Yunfei

Film editor: Ma Mingyuan

Story written by: Yang Sitong, Zhu Siqi

English editor: Matthew Arrington Watson

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