Residents of Longtan village play diabolo. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

Longtan village in Tianshenggang subdistrict, Chongchuan district, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, has been dedicated to promoting diabolo culture in recent years.

As early as the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), playing diabolo was a recreation for people and in 2006, diabolo was listed as among the first national intangible cultural heritage items.

Diabolo is made of two sections of hollow bamboo, each of which is carved with a 4-centimeter opening, and a wood axis. Two wood handles tied with one long rope are needed to play diabolo.

A Longtan villager plays diabolo. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

Players hoist the handles gently after hanging a diabolo on the rope and the diabolo rotates gently while making a sound. Diabolo enthusiasts have explored a wide variety of ways of playing diabolo over the game's long history.

Longtan village has organized multiple competitions for playing diabolo. Some participants even painted their diabolos with colorful effects while masters showed their skillful techniques by throwing the rotating diabolo, which keeps rotating even after dropping to the rope, in the air and.

Inheritors of diabolo have also been invited by Tianshenggang subdistrict to teach local residents how to play diabolo, so that the intangible cultural item can secure a spot in entertainment and fitness.