Small county in E China's Jiangxi becomes global billiards powerhouse

The 2025 Snooker World Open, held in Yushan county from late February to early March, drew top-ranked players, including Ding Junhui, Judd Trump and John Higgins, to this emerging billiards hub in east China's Jiangxi Province.

The prestigious tournament attracted global attention from billiards enthusiasts, further cementing Yushan's growing reputation in the international cue sports community.

People play billiards on the street in Yushan county, east China's Jiangxi Province. (Photo/Beijing Daily)

Yushan, a small county within Shangrao city in northeastern Jiangxi, once had little connection to billiards. Today, it's home to more than 200 billiard clubs and has developed a complete billiards industry, regularly hosting major domestic and international tournaments.

Beijing Xingpaiweiye Sports Goods Co., Ltd., founded in the 1980s, initially relied on imported slabs to produce high-quality tables, with each slab costing up to $2,000.

In search of cost-effective alternatives, the company discovered the ideal material in Yushan's Zhangcun town — a bluestone prized for its elasticity, water absorption, durability and anti-static properties. The region boasts substantial bluestone reserves, estimated at 3 billion cubic meters.

With government support, the company established a billiard table slate factory in Yushan in 1997 and steadily expanded operations.

Today, Yushan has become China's largest production base for billiard table slate, with products sold nationwide and exported to over 70 countries and regions, including the U.K. and Italy.

The county produces 250,000 billiard slabs and 50,000 billiard tables annually, generating over 1.5 billion yuan ($206 million) in output value.

In 2015, Yushan hosted the first Chinese Billiard World Championship, drawing 300 players from nearly 30 countries and regions. In 2016, the Snooker World Open was held in Yushan, strengthening the county's growing reputation as a billiards hub.

Since 2015, Yushan has hosted six sessions of the Chinese Billiard World Championship and six sessions of the Snooker World Open. These events spurred the opening of over 600 hotels, creating jobs for more than 60,000 people in the local tourism sector.

The Yushan Sports Center — the world's first modern stadium dedicated to cue sports — opened its doors in 2019. The Yushan International Billiards Academy was established in 2021, launching its formal recruitment program to develop the next generation of billiards talent. In 2024, the World Billiards Museum and the World Billiards Hall of Fame were established in Yushan.

On the opening day of the 2025 Snooker World Open, 20-year-old Xing Zihao, a graduate of the Yushan International Billiards Academy, went head-to-head with England's Judd Trump. Despite the loss, the opportunity to compete against a world-class player proved invaluable.

Watching from the sidelines, Zhong Yujie, a young woman from Yushan, captured the moment on camera. In 2021, at just 15 years old, she visited the newly established academy, fell in love with the sport and enrolled in its inaugural class.

"I started watching Chinese billiard tournaments when I was a kid," she recalled. "I didn't understand much, but the atmosphere was exciting. The academy's facilities and expert coaches were a big draw."

Most of her classmates at the academy had a background in billiards, but Zhong started from scratch. "I would often practice until the billiard room closed, and sometimes I would end up in tears from sheer frustration," she said.

At 16, Zhong's dedication paid off as she became the academy's first female player to break into China's top 16 in women's billiards. Following graduation, she remained at the academy as an assistant coach and obtained her referee's certification.

At the opening of the 2025 Snooker World Open, Liu Yangbo, champion of the 2025 Jiangxi "Village Cue League" billiards tournament, made a special guest appearance alongside the pros.

In Yushan, billiards rooms are everywhere. To promote fitness through cue sports, the county launched the "Village Cue League" billiards tournament, drawing inspiration from the "Village Super League" football competition in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

The first "Village Cue League" billiards tournament in 2024 attracted nearly 1,000 participants from 40 villages in Yushan. During the 2025 Spring Festival, the tournament's second edition expanded significantly, attracting over 5,000 competitors and more than 100,000 spectators.