Beikou

'''Boikoo tarkbei''' or '''Daur hockey''' is a game similar to field hockey or street hockey. It has been played for about 1,000 years<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/sports/olympics/23hockey.html|title=A Chinese Hinterland, Fertile With Field Hockey|last=McGrath|first=Charles|date=August 22, 2008 |work=The New York Times|accessdate=2008-08-23}}</ref> by the Daur people, an ethnic group from Inner Mongolia, China.<ref name=nyt/>

The game involves teams of men playing a ball-like knob of apricot root with long wooden branches.<ref name=nyt/> At night, the game is played with a felt-covered ball that is set alight.<ref name=nyt/> A game is reported to last for two periods of roughly 15 minutes.<ref name=nyt/>

'''Poolie tarkbei''' is the Daur version of polo. Boikoo and poolie are two popular game among Daurs.

Some Daurs believe the Daur term ''boikoo'' and ''poolie'' was originated from Chinese term ''buqiu'' (budaqiu or buqiu was a popular game in Tang China) and Tibetan term ''polon'', and deny the Khitan origin of Daurs. Others believe the Daur boikoo was originated from the '''Khitan hockey'''.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.dawoer.com/bbs/dispbbs.asp?BoardID=15&ID=48835 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121101031/http://www.dawoer.com/bbs/dispbbs.asp?BoardID=15&ID=48835 | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 21, 2013 | title=Unknown}}</ref>

When Western field hockey was introduced to China, it was taken up enthusiastically by the Daurs, whose affinity for the game has helped China to improve its global standing in field hockey.<ref name=nyt/> At the 2008 Summer Olympics, a third of the Chinese men's field hockey team was from Morin Dawa, a city in the Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner in Inner Mongolia.<ref name=nyt/>

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Ball games Category:Variations of hockey Category:Sports originating in China