Bocce – a lawn sport played with weighted ball that is similar to boules – made its debut as a mass sports activity at the 16th Games of Shanxi Province in Guangling county, Datong city, on Aug 10-13.

The competition attracted 73 athletes from the six cities of Taiyuan, Datong, Lyuliang, Jinzhong, Linfen, and Yuncheng. It consisted of plastic bocce, large metal bocce and small metal bocce activities for mixed doubles, three-person teams, women's continuous throwing, men's targeted throwing, and mixed three-person teams.

Participants hailed from various backgrounds and ranged in age from 26 to 70 years. Registered athletes from bocce, curling, and land curling were ineligible to compete. 

Datong, Taiyuan and Yuncheng ranked among the top three teams with 58, 46, and 35 points, respectively. Datong won five competitions and Yuncheng won two. 

Often referred to as curling on land, bocce requires competitors to throw or roll balls towards targets, similar to the rules of curling. It has long been a traditional and popular mass sports event in Shanxi. 

Since its introduction in Taiyuan, Datong, and Yuncheng in 1986, bocce has flourished, especially in Guangling county. The county's athletes have achieved remarkable success at national bocce championships and youth tournaments.