Shanghai parkour: Jumping, flipping and climbing the city

You’ve probably seen them in dozens of action films swinging effortlessly like monkeys from scaffolding, launching themselves off absurdly high platforms and doing flips off rooftops -- welcome to the world of parkour. Although Shanghai's parkour groups are late to the game, they're catching up quick.

Growing by leaps and bounds

Parkour’s incredible movements appear staged, but there are no wires or special effects here; parkour uses raw urban scenarios as a playground, and our city’s first ever parkour training center opens this month.

The Shanghai Parkour Center offers instruction so anyone can learn to scale walls like Spiderman. It has especially designed padded obstacles where people can practice jumping, rolling, flipping and climbing in a safe environment.

“People are fascinated by parkour because it's challenging,” says Chen Qianru, who set up Shanghai’s parkour center. “We all have monkeys inside us, but as we grow older this feeling and this passion for movement dies away.”

Now people are releasing their inner monkeys all over the world, the discipline has become one of the fastest growing urban art forms on the planet. “It is not only a physical thing, it is a spiritual thing,” says Chen. “Parkour is part of human instinct.”

Shanghai parkour gets started

Originating from France the activity sets out to find the most fluid way to overcome the gritty concrete obstacles in a city’s landscape. Parkour allows you to move in the easiest way possible and has evolved like a religion. Participants believe in parkour and the flow of movement and energy. If done correctly the movements should make them more efficient in their immediate journey and day-to-day life. And of course, as a side effect, it’s incredibly spectacular to watch. 

The Shanghai parkour group now has over 100 members who have mastered techniques by copying movies like "District 13" and sourcing homemade videos on Youtube. Although Chen only started two years ago, he is one of the most competent in Shanghai’s predominantly young male group. “You have to be super fit and super confident to do tricks,” says Chen, “but anyone can learn.”

Shanghainese Chen Wenhao started parkour a year ago: “I now look at my surroundings in an entirely different way and notice things I’d never have seen before. I have more confidence; in fact I have no fear.”

Those who go to the training center are in good hands, Chen promises. “It is a dangerous sport, but not dangerous with our help.”

Specialist parkour coaches include retired military men and kungfu experts. It is considered an extreme activity and Chen admits there is an obvious risk in jumping off of high buildings and scaling tall walls -- “People can get seriously injured if they do it wrong, but that's part of the appeal.”

Though practicing around the city gets a bizarre reaction from the older Shanghai community. “Most people are like ‘Son, don't do that, you don't want to get hurt. Are you crazy?’” Chen explains. “But nothing will stop me practicing parkour, it makes me feel like I can fly.”

getting there

Shanghai Parkour Center
1825 Gaoke Xi Lu, near Yanqiao Lu and Gaoke Xi Lu metro station
Daily, 10am-10pm
RMB 60 per lesson, one English speaking instructor
Email: kindtyrant@21cn.com for details