STUDENTS of the Chinese martial art of Tai Chi have converged upon Herefordshire from as far away as Iceland and Italy.

More than 100 people were in Leominster's Bridge Street Sports Centre to meet Grand Master Chen Xiao Wang, one of the foremost exponents of the art in the world.

Tai Chi is not just a martial art but an exercise that is undertaken by an estimated 30 million people in China every day.

Its part in the health of the nation is considered so important that Chen Xiao Wang, who was the first ever gold medallist in Tai Chi, was elected to the Chinese Congress and has received a special award from the Government in Beijing.

Now living in Australia, the Grand Master spends nine months of the year touring the world teaching, but continues to make annual visits to Hereford.

His Leominster session was one of several held around the county.

Earlier this year five members of the Hereford and Beckford Tai Chi group visited China for training from Chen Xiao Wang.