BAODING IRON BALL

       Baoding Iron Ball, famed as one of the "three treasures" of Baoding, China, is a traditional product renowned at home and abroad.  The production of Baoding Iron Ball dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), and it has been being made meticulously by Baoding handicraftsmen through the ages.

       Originally, the Baoding Iron Ball was a solid ball, and afterwards it is designed hollow with a sounding plate it it.  Of a pair of balls, one sounds high and one low, it is a treasure necessary for the aged to build up physical strength and remove diseases.

       Usage:  When taking exercise, put two iron balls on your palm, and crook and stretch the five fingers in sequence to cause the balls to rotate and revolve, either clockwise or counter-clockwise.  In so doing, all the joints of the hand are always in motion; and with the crooking and stretching of the fingers . . . more in Iron Ball Direction.