Martial arts street cleaner

A road sweeper has become a local celebrity in China for her habit of using her broom as an exercise prop to keep in shape.

Zhang Xiufang, from Beijing, said: "I got this job when my husband became very ill and was unable to work. Our daughter is in primary school and we needed to pay our bills.

"Before I got the job I used to do Taichi both using my body and with a sword, and I missed them because with this Jon I start at 5am and finish at 4pm, but then one day I was swinging the broom and it reminded me of my old hobby - and then I started practicing again at work."

The martial arts broom master was spotted by a local man in Beijing's Chaoyang district who made a short video with his phone and uploaded it onto YouTube.

The video was such a hit that Zhang was invited to the capital top star in a TV programme in Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu province.

She said: "I have even been asked by other street sweepers to show them some tricks - it's a great way to relax and stay fit in what is a very demanding job so why not?"

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