A 13-year-old Chinese breakdancer has made history as the first Chinese dancer to secure the junior world title at the world's largest street dance competition.

Li Yongqiu, from Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, took home the title on March 8 at Juste Debout 2026 in Paris against a field of over 4,000 international competitors.

Li, known in the dance community as "Qiu Qiu", clinched the gold after a high-stakes final where he successfully adapted his breaking repertoire to house and hip-hop tracks — genres outside his primary discipline.

"As Chinese, we strive for excellence," said Li following his win. "We shouldn't back down just because others are doing well; on the contrary, the better they are, the more determined I am to excel, and even surpass them."

Li's head coach, Lai Junquan, said the boy has a strong and determined personality.

"He is relentless in perfecting moves, highly self-disciplined in training and has a strong internal drive, making him very well suited for breaking," Lai said.

The coach highlighted Li's remarkable adaptability and steady performance under pressure.

The annual Juste Debout, founded in France in 2002, attracts elite dancers in styles such as hip-hop, popping, locking and breaking. This year's event drew over 4,000 competitors from more than 40 countries, with some 400 advancing to the finals.

Li, a student at Nanhua Middle School in Chongqing's Liangjiang New Area, started breakdancing at the age of 8.

His impressive skills led to his selection for the Chongqing Breakdancing Team in 2022, organized by the Chongqing Social Sports Guidance Center and the sports bureau in the city's Shapingba district.

According to his personal coach, Chen Long, Li practices five to six days a week, typically training for up to three hours after school on weekdays, and six to eight hours on weekends — all while keeping up with his school work.

Street dance originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States, emerging from neighborhood parties hosted by African American and Latino youth.

In New York, breaking, also known as B-boying, rapidly gained popularity. The style features moves such as top rock, floor work and freezes, emphasizing competition and physical skill.

Breaking was officially approved by the International Olympic Committee in 2020 to be included as a competition event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Li said his goal is to one day represent China in the Olympics and compete in breaking.

"Although there are guidelines for skills and techniques, street dance's expression and spirit have no fixed rules," said coach Lai.

"If everything were standardized, it would lose its charm. That's why, along with learning international styles, we are also exploring our own traditional cultures to incorporate into street dance."

Other young Chinese dancers also delivered notable performances at Juste Debout 2026.

According to Beijing Youth Daily, Liu Yangjunmiao reached the top eight in the junior category, and Zhang Xinlan and Zhang Chuyi advanced to the top eight in the adult popping division, becoming the only Asian duo to achieve that status.

Contact the writers at dengrui@chinadaily.com.cn