With the ongoing momentum of the 15th National Games, "China's Hometown of Overseas Chinese"—Jiangmen City—aims to strengthen its "Hometown of Volleyball" identity by hosting national events, upgrading facilities, and integrating the sport into daily life, as announced at a press conference held on November 18 in Guangdong's capital city, Guangzhou.
Jiangmen, a Pearl River Delta city in southern China, is home to 5.3 million overseas Chinese. Since volleyball was introduced by overseas Chinese who crossed the oceans in 1914, the sport has taken root and flourished in Jiangmen. Today, volleyball in Jiangmen is no longer merely a sporting event but a joy shared by the entire population.
Lin Jiansheng, Vice Mayor of Jiangmen City, highlighted Jiangmen's deep-rooted volleyball culture, which was introduced over 100 years ago.
"Volleyball should not only be an 'exclusive stage' for professional athletes but also a 'shared life pleasure' for all residents," Lin said.
For example, in Jiangmen's county-level city, Taishan, with a permanent population of approximately 900,000, there are 3,300 amateur volleyball teams. Nearly 350,000 people from Taishan regularly participate in volleyball activities, accounting for about 38% of the total population.
In the future, leveraging its brand as the "Hometown of Volleyball" in China, Jiangmen City will host large-scale volleyball events at or above the national level and improve volleyball infrastructure.
This will allow Jiangmen residents to enjoy high-level volleyball matches right at their doorstep, boost the volleyball industry economy, and bring the joy of volleyball to every household in Jiangmen.
The press conference, themed "City's Sports DNA," was organized by the Executive Committee of the 15th National Games of the People's Republic of China. The conference held on November 18 was the fourth one since November 15.
By bringing together Guangdong's 21 cities in turn during the four convenings, the press conference featured presentations by officials from each city.
At the press conference on November 18, Jiangmen, together with Zhuhai, Yangjiang, Zhanjiang, and Maoming, highlighted preparations for hosting events during the 15th National Games (November 9-21) and strategies to involve the general public in the growth of the local sports industry.
Reporter | Huang Xinyi
Editor | Hu Nan, James Campion, Shen He
