Abstract: Based on the geographical planting patterns of southern rice and northern wheat, the impact of rice and wheat planting modes on the physical exercise participation of farmers in the south and north of China is empirically explored using micro survey data. The results show that, compared with the southern rice area, farmers in the northern wheat area have a higher level of participation in physical exercise, which is significantly related to the planting mode of rice in the south and wheat in the north. After a series of robustness tests, including heterogeneity analysis, endogenous problem treatment, PSM re-estimation, changing explanatory variables and explained variables, this conclusion is still valid. The potential transmission path indicates that the differences in the planting modes of southern rice and northern wheat induce farmers to choose different survival strategies when facing the threat of survival. Compared with the southern rice area, the farmers in the northern wheat area pay more attention to education as a survival tool, and form a lasting and stable education-centered concept through inter-generational inheritance. On this basis, the improved education level promotes their participation in physical exercise. In addition, the difference of the planting modes makes farmers in the south and north distribute their work and leisure time differently. Since wheat planting takes relatively less time and farmers have more leisure time, it provides time guarantee for them to participate in physical exercise.