A photo shows a competitor climbing trees in Xiamen University on Nov 14, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

A spectacular tree-climbing competition kicks off Sunday in Xiamen University in southeastern China's Fujian province.

The game attracted 60 teachers and students on campus. The winner will compete in Hong Kong, which founded a tree climbing association in 2007.

"I think tree-climbing is more fashionable and has more fun comparing with basketball, football and other traditional sports," said Sun Zhaokang, a junior competitor of the university.

Tree-climbing is a popular outdoor sports originated from the United States in 1980's. Since Tree Climbers International, the world's first tree-climbing school, was founded in 1983 in Atlanta, many similar institutions have been estabulished worldwide.

Tree-climbing courses have been provided in more than a thousand schools in the United States, teaching how to swing between trees by the usage of tools like ropes.

Started from the end of 2012, Xiamen University was the first on the mainland to offer a tree-climbing course, attracting a total of more than 400 students.