Pole Climbing or Yuangan
缘竿
Yuangan refers to a kind of activity of climbing up along an upright pole with various skill showing. It has different names such as Dulu, Xunyuan, or Pole Climbing.
缘竿是沿着一根竖立的竿爬上或滑下并在竿上做各种技巧表演的一种运动，又叫都卢、寻缘，或者爬竿。
Yuangan had been popular in the Han dynasty. According to certain information, the show at that time was not merely climbing up to the top of the pole, but doing many dangerous and breath-taking performances on the top of it. Furthermore, the pole then was not stuck on the ground but on the shoulder or the head of another player. It was carried on from generation to generation to generation after Han and developed into more complex actions.
汉代时期就已盛行，而且表演者爬到竿顶时还要做出花样迭出的惊险动作。而且，当时人所缘之竿也不是立在地上，而是立在一个人的肩上或头上。以后的各个朝代中，缘竿活动传承不绝，而且创意迭出，并不断向高难度发展。
Yuangan in the Tang dynasty made greather progress than in the previous dynasties. What is most interesting is that not only did the emperor Tang Xuanzong like watching it but also designed different actions himself. It is said her once taught a mill child the distinguished skills of turning somesault on the pole, and eventually the child could turn somesaults all the way from the top of the pole to the ground, which made the audience tremendously shocked.
隋唐时期的缘竿表演，较前代又有很大的发展。有趣的是，唐玄宗不但爱观赏缘竿表演，还亲自设计表演的节目。据称唐玄宗曾教一个教坊小儿表演竿上翻跟头的绝技，最后，这个小孩能从百尺高的竿顶一路跟头翻至着地，让观者惊愕不已。
It is still very popular now, but not so breathe-taking as before. Nowadays it is usually to set the pole on the ground, and the performers climb up with their legs and hands or only hands, so it becomes more a body-build activity.
现在，缘竿活动仍十分流行，不过，现今的缘竿活动已没有了往日的惊险刺激，它通常是把竿立在地上，缘竿者或四肢并用，或只用双手向上攀爬，因此，它更多地成了一种锻炼身体的活动。
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