China is one of the oldest cultures in the world, and they have been practicing a form of sport in one way or another for a long time. They have practiced archery and swordplay as well as a form of soccer dating back to the earliest dynasties.

tall chinese basketballer

tall Chinese basketballer Yao Ming

Today, Chinese athletes are well known for their martial arts but this culture which has spent a long time enclosing themselves from the rest of the world have started embracing western sports from basketball all the way to snooker. Physical fitness is a great part of the Chinese culture, which is why there are a lot of fitness clubs and commercial gyms.

They have a lot of cyclists in the country, having 470 million bicycles in the 2012. But for the youth, basketball is quite big, mostly because of NBA players who are a native Chinese or have Chinese blood. Players like Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin are quite revered in China.

"China's evolution from traditional martial arts to embracing global sports like basketball demonstrates the country's ability to honor cultural heritage while competing on the world stage. Their Olympic success reflects decades of systematic sports development and investment in athletic excellence."
— Robert J. Wood, PhD, Founder of Topend Sports

China has also attended most of the Olympics Games, both the Summer and Winter Games, since 1932. They have also hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where they took a total of 51 gold medals, the most that any participating state took home that year. They took a total of 100 medals that year, the highest medal count they ever had in any Olympic outing since they first joined in 1932. China also hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics, also in Beijing.

China at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Here are the medals the People's Republic of China won at the Paris Olympics:

Gold Silver Bronze Total
40 27 24 91

China at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

Here are the medals China won at the Beijing Olympics:

Gold Silver Bronze Total
9 4 2 15

China at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Here are the medals China won at the Tokyo Olympics:

Gold Silver Bronze Total
38 32 19 89

China at the 2016 Rio Olympics

Here are the medals China won at the Rio Olympics:

Gold Silver Bronze Total
26 18 26 70

Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to China. See also about sport in Hong Kong, Macau, Chinese Taipei.

🏀 Basketball in China

Basketball has become hugely popular among Chinese youth, driven by NBA stars like Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin who have Chinese heritage.

Learn More →

🥋 Martial Arts Excellence

China is renowned for traditional martial arts including Wushu, Kung Fu, and various forms that have influenced combat sports worldwide.

Explore Wushu →

🏓 Table Tennis Dominance

China has dominated international table tennis for decades, producing legendary players like Deng Yaping and winning numerous Olympic gold medals.

Discover More →

Popular sports of China

Traditional or Regional Sports

  • Jianzi — players aim to keep an shuttlecock type object (called a Jianzi) in the air by striking it predominantly with legs.
  • Cuju — an ancient ball game which involves kicking a ball through an opening into a net.
  • Qianball — a racket and ball sport developed in China which can be best described as a mix of aspects from tennis and squash.
  • Zui Quan (or Drunkard's Boxing) — a concept in traditional Chinese martial arts.
  • Wushu — a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts.
  • Sanda / Sanshou — a form of kickboxing from China, which combines full-contact kickboxing, with wrestling, takedowns, throws, sweeps, kick catches, and in some competitions, even elbow and knee strikes.
  • Beikou Tarkbei (also called Daur Hockey) — a team sport unique to the Daur ethnic group in Inner Mongolia, that has a lot of similarities to field hockey.
  • Dragon Boat Racing: This is a traditional Chinese sport that involves teams of paddlers racing long boats in the shape of a dragon.
"Traditional Chinese sports like Jianzi and Cuju represent thousands of years of cultural athletic development. These ancient sports showcase China's innovative approach to physical fitness and competition, with some historians suggesting that Cuju may have been an early precursor to modern football."
— According to sports science expert Robert Wood, who has analyzed sports performance data for over 25 years

China's Sporting Success

  • China led the gold medal count at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Great athletes from China

  • Yao Ming (Basketball)
  • Zhang Lian-wei (Golf)
  • Deng Yaping (Table Tennis)
  • Liu Xiang (Hurdles, track & field)
  • Li Na (Tennis)
  • Li Ning (Gymnastics)

China Sports trivia

  • Sprinter Liu Changchun was the first athlete to represent China in competition at an Olympic Games, he was the sole competitor from the Republic of China at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles.
  • At the 1992 Olympic Games, 13-year-old Fu Mingxia of China won the platform diving event, making her the second-youngest person to win an individual gold medal.
  • Besides the UK, China is the only other country that has four national associations in FIFA, including Hong Kong, Macau, Chinese Taipei.
  • There is evidence that an early form of soccer was played in China - military forces around 2nd-3rd century BC played a game called "Tsu Chu", that involved kicking a leather ball stuffed with fur into a small hole, and like soccer no hands were permitted during the play of the game.

China at major events

Past sporting events hosted in China

Upcoming sporting events in China

Annual sporting events held in China

  • China Open (Tennis)
  • BMW Masters (Golf)
  • All China Games (the National Games of the People's Republic of China.) - held every 4 years.
  • The Chinese National Swimming Championships
  • The Chinese National Athletics Championships
  • The Chinese National Table Tennis Championships
  • The Chinese National Basketball Championships
  • The Chinese National Soccer Championships
"China's systematic approach to hosting major sporting events has transformed the country's sports infrastructure and international profile. From the landmark 2008 Beijing Olympics to the 2022 Winter Olympics, China has demonstrated exceptional capability in organizing world-class competitions while promoting sports development domestically."
— Robert J. Wood's research at Topend Sports found that

Sporting Facilities in China

More Info

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