Nobody really knows how or when gymnastics really started.
The Chinese developed something like Gymnastics, it was called Cong Fu, about one thousand years later. About 2500 years ago, the Greeks were the firs to use Gymnastics for a sport and personal fitness. In a city-state called Athens, Gymnastics tournaments were held. The athletes climbed ropes, tumbled and did other things similar to modern Gymnastics. The ancient Greeks in Athens loved these tournaments.