The Ridiculous Reason Why This Man In China Wears Shoes Weighing Over 200kg
Try walking in this man's fave footwear, and you'll probably be stuck on the spot - but Zhang Fuxing says all the heavy lifting can cure back pain and hemorrhoids.
By Sadho Ram — 11 Dec 2013, 01:07 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
A Chinese factory worker says walking in huge iron shoes weighing more than 200kg each can cure back pain
Zhang Fuxing of Tangshan, in northern China's Hebei province, is on a quest to make the heaviest shoes in China. He claims walking in the 440-pound-each iron shoes can cure ailments like back pain.
Although he faces hefty competition in his bid to build the country's heaviest footwear.
"I've been walking with iron shoes for seven years," said Zhang Fuxing, before strapping two crudely-welded iron blocks to his feet.
Pair of Zhang Fuxing's iron shoes at a residential district in Tangshan, in northern China's Hebei province.
Image via nydailynews.com"After they reached 400 kilograms (882 pounds), I felt very proud. Next spring I plan to add 50 kilograms." Zhang took a deep breath before each wrenching step in the towering footwear, with every impact leaving him struggling for balance.
deccanchronicle.com
For the past 7 years, Zhang Fuxing has walked in iron shoes, in what he views as a healthy habit
Here, he is taking a stroll in a residential district in Tangshan, Hebei province.
Image via scmp.comIt took him over a minute to take 10 paces, but he claims to walk up to 15 metres each day in the shoes, which he has gradually increased in weight, and touts them as a cure for back pain and haemorrhoids.
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52-year-old Zhang Fuxing credits his ability to move the shoes to the Chinese spiritual martial art Qigong, said to involve controlling the flow of supposed bodily energies
"It's not strong muscles that make you able to walk like this, the power comes from internal organs,'' he said, adding: "When you walk with your heart it will work.''
Zhang Fuxing with his iron shoes at his office in Tangshan, in northern China's Hebei province. Picture: Wang Zhao
Image via news.com.auZhang believes his shoes to be the heaviest in China - which he leaves outdoors, safe in the knowledge that they are close to impossible for most people to lift - but admits that competition from a number of other eccentrics renders his claim uncertain.
One of two Chinese iron shoe wearers to share a Guinness World Record for walking 10 metres backwards in heavyweight iron boots is Zhang Zhenghui from Changsha
According to a 2010 report by the official Xinhua news agency Zhang Zhenghui has gold-painted shoes weighing more than 200 kilograms.
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Lai Yingying, an entertainer from Fujian in the east, was shown by state broadcaster CCTV wearing shoes tipping the scales at a total of 300 kilograms.
nydailynews.com
A runner, Liu Mei, took to exercising in metal footwear after growing bored of tying sandbags onto his trainers, the state-run China News Service reported, and challenged other exponents to compete for the title of "Iron Shoe King".
His call "hit the world of eccentric stunt people like a tidal wave", the report said, but there is no record of the contest having taken place.
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Zhang Fuxing - who runs a workshop making machine parts - says he was inspired by one of these pioneers
"I saw someone wearing iron shoes on TV. They said it was good for the heart and bones," he said.
At the time Zhang was suffering from back pain "so bad that I couldn't bend over to wash my face", but claims his symptoms disappeared just months after donning the footwear, an experience which left him wanting to share them with a wider audience.
He now manufactures a range of weighted metal footwear, which users strap over their existing shoes, in a small factory near his hometown in the northern city of Tangshan, and sells them online.
A snazzy red pair weighing 10 kilograms each costs 550 yuan ($90), while the heaviest 60 kilogram boots sell for 1450 yuan.
He claims to have sold several hundred pairs, including at least 10 to his neighbors, several of whom gathered around on a chilly morning to watch Zhang take his wobbling steps.
"We've all worn his iron shoes, it makes your legs feel better," said Chen Guanghua, a woman in her sixties. "We can't all play badminton, but anyone can wear shoes."