| Known as the land of martial arts, Sport in China | | | | end in the near future. |
| today refers to the variety of competitive sports | | | | In 2004, FIFA officially acknowledged China as the |
| played in China, including Taiwan, Hong Kong and | | | | birthplace of football, when the game of cuju was |
| Macau. Competitive sports date back to the early | | | | played over 2,000 years ago. |
| Zhou Dynasty, with Kings granting an audience to | | | | Golf |
| wrestlers or martial artists. The influx of modern | | | | Golf tournaments in China include the HSBC |
| sports appeared in China since the beginning of the | | | | Champions in Shanghai, TCL Classic in Sanya on |
| 20th Century. Currently, football and basketball | | | | Hainan island, the Volvo China Open and the BMW |
| dominate mainland China as the most popular sports, | | | | Asian Open, played in the PRC after 2004. The most |
| especially when measured based on audience. In | | | | successful Chinese golfer has been Zhang Lian-Wei. |
| Taiwan, baseball has gained increasing attention. | | | | The Mission Hills Golf Club golf course at Guanlan in |
| Popular amateur sports include table tennis, | | | | Shenzen is said to be the world's largest. |
| badminton, martial arts and various forms of pool. | | | | At the amateur level, Golf is seen as the top |
| China's professional sports are in its developmental | | | | recreational sport for businesspeople and officials. |
| stages. | | | | Because of their relatively high position in Chinese |
| Badminton | | | | society, they are usually the only people with access |
| Badminton is a popular sport in China. Famous Chinese | | | | to the sport of Golf on mainland China. |
| badminton players include Lin Dan, Cheng Shao-Chieh, | | | | Grand Prix |
| Zhang Ning, Huang Sui and Tsai Chia-Hsin. | | | | The Chinese Grand Prix is a Formula 1 event held at |
| Baseball | | | | the Shanghai International Circuit. See 2004 Chinese |
| The China Baseball League was founded in 2002. It is | | | | Grand Prix and 2005 Chinese Grand Prix. |
| not a popular sport in China. | | | | Ice hockey |
| Basketball | | | | The Chinese national women's ice hockey team is |
| The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA, the NBA's | | | | controlled by the Chinese Ice Hockey Association, |
| Chinese counterpart) is the premier professional | | | | and highly ranked in world competition. Men's hockey, |
| basketball league in the People's Republic of China. It | | | | in comparison, is somewhat lacking. Semi-professional |
| began in 1995. The Chinese University Basketball | | | | teams have sprung up in Shenyang and Harbin. |
| Association is the most competitive and popular | | | | Martial arts |
| college basketball competition in China. There is also | | | | Hundreds of different styles of Chinese martial arts |
| the Chinese Basketball League. | | | | have developed over the past two thousand years, |
| Chinese youths are becoming more keen on playing | | | | many distinctive styles with their own sets of |
| basketball, especially in urban centres with limited | | | | techniques and ideas. Hundreds of different styles |
| space and grass areas, where football would not be | | | | and schools of Wushu still exist in China, but generally |
| a readily convenient option. The NBA has a huge | | | | they can be divided into a few distinct branches, |
| following among Chinese youths and young adults, | | | | including Northern and Southern Shaolin-style Wushu. |
| with Yao Ming being a big idol figure. It is not | | | | There are also Buddhist, Daoist and Muslim styles. |
| uncommon today to see young male teens clad in | | | | Performance at international games |
| NBA jerseys of famous players. | | | | Logo of the 2008 Beijing OlympicsChina has done |
| China is the third oldest basketball playing nation in | | | | very well in recent Olympic Games, particularly in the |
| the world (after the United States and Canada), | | | | 2004 Summer Olympics, when China came second |
| having been introduced to it by American YMCA | | | | overall: with being second in the gold medal tally, and |
| missionaries in the late 19th century. | | | | third in total medal tally with 63 (32 gold, 17 silver and |
| Cricket | | | | 14 bronze). |
| Recently the Asian Cricket Council has been funding | | | | Japan is set to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. |
| the growth of cricket in China. Coaching support is | | | | In the 2006 Winter Olympics, China performed well in |
| being provided by coaches from cricketing | | | | speed skating and figure skating. The Chinese national |
| superpowers such as Australia and India. There are | | | | women's ice hockey team is highly ranked in world |
| currently around 2,500 registered players, with the | | | | competitions. |
| aim to have 150,000 by 2020 so the sport can | | | | China also participated in the 2006 World Baseball |
| receive Chinese state funding. | | | | Classic. It was eliminated after losing its first three |
| Football | | | | games. |
| Football has been one of the most well supported | | | | Table tennis |
| sports in China ever since it was introduced in the | | | | Ping Pang Qiu (, where the colloquial term "Ping pong" |
| 1900s. There is, in fact, evidence that soccer was | | | | has emerged) is the official name for the sport of |
| first played in China around 1000 AD, leading many | | | | table tennis in China. Apart from the national |
| historians to believe that the popular sport originated | | | | representative team, the table tennis community in |
| from China[1]. From 1994 to 2004, the top flight of | | | | China continues to produce many world-class players, |
| professional football was "Jia A". The current Chinese | | | | and this depth of skill allows the country to continue |
| Football Association was founded in the People's | | | | dominating recent world titles after a short break |
| Republic of China after 1949. Its headquarters is | | | | during the 1990s. The overwhelming dominance of |
| located in Beijing. The Chinese Super League is the | | | | China in the sport has triggered a series of rules |
| premier football league in China, which was founded in | | | | changes in the International Table Tennis Federation |
| 2004, as the top of a league hierarchy that extends | | | | and as part of the Olympics. Wang Liqin is currently |
| to four leagues. | | | | one of the highest-ranked Chinese table tennis |
| The women's national team has finished second at | | | | players, and the highest-ranked player in the world. |
| both the World Championships and the Olympic | | | | Deng Yaping is regarded by many as one of the |
| Games, whereas the men's national team qualified to | | | | greatest table tennis player of all time. The sport |
| the Football World Cup in 2002. Despite the Chinese | | | | played an important role in China's international |
| women's success at international competitions, | | | | relations; in April 1972, the US table tennis team were |
| however, Women's soccer in China does not receive | | | | invited to visit China, an event later called "Ping Pong |
| nearly as much attention as their counterparts in | | | | Diplomacy". Table tennis is one of the biggest |
| Canada and the United States, therefore China's | | | | amateur recreational sports in China today, with an |
| good trend in Women's soccer may well come to an | | | | estimated 200 million players. |