The Chinese worker getting a leg up in 200kg iron shoes
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
A Chinese factory worker says walking in huge iron shoes weighing more than 200kg each can cure back pain, but 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.
“After they reached 400kg, I felt very proud. Next spring I plan to add 50kg.”
Zhang took a deep breath before each wrenching step in the towering footwear, with every impact leaving him struggling for balance.
It took him more than 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 hemorrhoids.
Zhang, 52, credits his ability to move the shoes – which he leaves outdoors, safe in the knowledge that they are close to impossible for most people to lift – to the Chinese spiritual martial art of qigong, said to involve controlling the flow of supposed bodily energies.