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GAODONG TOWN GATEBALL PARK STADIUM, Built for these Championships Sure to Become the Gateball Mecca of China

GAODONG TOWN GATEBALL PARK STADIUM is a huge gateball theme park built specially for these Championships by the host town of Gao Dong Zhen in Pudong New Area, Shanghai at a cost of tens of millions of yuan (1 yuan = approx. 13 Japanese yen). As well as natural grass courts and artificial grass courts, it also houses the Chinese Gateball Exhibition Hall described below. “Gao Dong Zhen will be the center for Chinese gateball from now on,” said Zhao Huajuan of the China Gateball Association.

  1. The park has 12 high quality natural grass courts as well as 6 artificial grass courts
  2. The buildings constructed at the venue by the Championships organizers include the China Gateball Exhibition Hall, described below
  3. Banners announcing the Championships seen on the way into Gao Dong Zhen create a welcoming mood
  4. Electronic scoreboard displays match times as well as scores
  5. A total of 10,000 spectators came from all over China even though there was an admission fee
  6. Zhao Wen, Deputy Mayor of Shanghai, gives a welcome speech at the opening ceremony

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The China Gateball Exhibition Hall, the largest in the world, was opened at the venue during the Championships!

The unveiling ceremony of the China Gateball Exhibition Hall, built within the venue grounds, was held together with the opening ceremony of the Championships.
The China Gateball Exhibition Hall not only introduces Chinese gateball but also exhibits photographs and articles about the general history of gateball, the past presidents of the World Gateball Union and past world champions, and the spread of gateball to countries and regions around the world. It is the world's largest in terms of its scale and the number of exhibits.

  1. Exhibits include various Chinese competition trophies and the latest gateball equipment
  2. Kiyoko Ono (right), Chairperson of the World Gateball Union, smiles when she finds her own photo on display
  3. Entrance to the China Gateball Exhibition Hall
  4. All the organizers of these Championships inspect the elaborate scale model of a gateball match

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Spectacularly grandiose opening and closing ceremonies

All the players, referees and guests as well as paying spectators packed into the GAODONG TOWN GATEBALL PARK STADIUM in the evening of September 17th for the opening ceremony. The venue later moved downtown to a welcome party at the Crown Plaza Hotel attended by team representatives, international referees and guests. The closing ceremony was held after the final on the last day, September 19th, in the huge grounds of Gao Dong Junior High School where a stage had been set up, and was attended by more than 10,000 people including paying spectators. Both ceremonies were gorgeously presented and brought to life by many Chinese dances and songs.

  1. The opening ceremony included traditional Chinese dance performances
  2. Kiyoko Ono, Chairperson of the World Gateball Union, gives a speech at the opening ceremony
  3. Hu Jianguo of the State General Administration of Sports Public Sports Department attended the welcome party along with many guests
  4. The closing ceremony was televised live and included the award ceremony for the winning teams as well as many professional singers and dancers

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108 international referees from six countries and regions did a great job!

A total of 108 international referees officiated at these Championships, 15 from Japan, 45 from China, 27 from Chinese Taipei, 15 from South Korea, 3 from Macao, and 3 from Brazil. Their calls and gestures were accurate and orderly, contributing to the smooth running of matches and setting a professional tone to the whole event.

  1. 108 international referees all together!
  2. Their brisk actions made the games go smoothly
  3. In the closing ceremony 3 international referees from each country or region were awarded prizes for superior officiating

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China's equivalent of Japan's “Nice Pal” magazine! Gateball magazine “GARDEN OF GATEBALL”

China's gateball magazine is called “GARDEN OF GATEBALL”. Published every other month, it has a circulation of about 50,000 mostly within China but also in Taiwan, Hong Kong and other places. Like our magazine, it contains reports on competitions, lessons on skills and tactics, and news from different regions, and the most popular articles are about tactics.

  1. The front cover of the January 2010 edition shows a photograph of Kiyoko Ono, chairperson of the World Gateball Union, when she visited the venue for this year's World Championships
  2. Like our magazine, it is A4 size and contains 64 pages, about half of which contain articles about tactics
  3. GARDEN OF GATEBALL also sells DVDs for game analysis using computer graphics, and a strategy board about the size of a table tennis table (see photo)

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