Athletes perform Chinese martial arts at the opening ceremony of the 2019 Zhoushan International Martial Art Competition on Nov 9 in Zhoushan. [Photo/zhoushan.cn]

The 2019 Zhoushan International Martial Arts Competition was held on Nov 9-10 in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province.

The event consists of more than 1,700 competition categories, including a number of different martial arts tournaments and group contests.

Over 1,500 athletes, coaches, judges and guests from 17 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Spain, participated in the event. Athletes ranged in age from four to 85.

The organizing committee of the event set up several special awards, such as contribution, achievement and child prodigy awards.

The committee also issued travel brochures and recommended several tourist routes to attendees in order to help them better appreciate the local culture and scenery.

The event was held by the Zhoushan Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film, Television, Tourism and Sports, Zhoushan's tai chi association and Hong Kong's wushu competition organizing committee.

Chinese martial arts, an important part of Chinese culture, have a history stretching back thousands of years and are regarded as a symbol of China, said Guo Wenjie, deputy director of the bureau.

According to local authorities, Zhoushan has been dedicated to the development of martial arts in recent years. The city's native martial arts athletes have won many gold and silver medals in recent provincial contests.