The Most Popular Sports in China (Top 11 Ranked)

Table Tennis leads China in 2025, ahead of Badminton and Basketball. Ranking of 11 sports.

This page ranks the sports of China by the evidence behind each one, because no membership count, license total or national participation survey is published on the same basis for every sport in China. The Chinese Football Association counts registered players, the Chinese Basketball Association and the Chinese Badminton Association count a broader survey based playing population, and the winter sports authority counts seasonal participants. These figures cannot be placed on one scale, so each row carries its own documented reason instead of a shared number.

Table Tennis is on top, followed by Badminton and Basketball. The full table below covers 11 sports, and every section further down names the source for the figure it uses.

The Most Popular Sports in China

The table counts evidence, not people who say they like a sport. It is the figure that is published the same way for every sport in the list, which is what makes the rows comparable.

#	Sport	Basis for the placing
1	Table Tennis	乒乓球成为了中国的’国球’
2	Badminton	中国羽毛球人口达到2.5亿
3	Basketball	中国篮球人口约1.25亿，其中核心篮球人口约为7610万人，已是中国集体球类第一运动。
4	Soccer	目前我国共有53.9万名注册球员（还有部分校园球员未能统计入内）
5	Volleyball	17816名观众现场观赛，这一数字刷新了世界女排联赛（VNL）此前单场17034名观众的纪录
6	Distance Running	2024年全国累计举办各级各类路跑赛事749场，总赛事规模达704.86万人次
7	Skiing and Ice Skating	2024, 2025冰雪季，全国居民冰雪运动参与人数达2.92亿人，参与率20.61%，较上一冰雪季增加约2744万人，参与率提高1.93个百分点。
8	Esports	2024年，我国电子竞技用户规模达4.9亿，同比增长0.42％。
9	Wushu	The origins of wushu may be traced back to early man and his struggle for survival in the harsh environment during Bronze Age (3000-1200 BC)
10	Tennis	根据2024年最新调查结果，我国网球人口为25188388人相比于2021年ITF报告中的19673497人增长了5514891人，增长率达28.03%。2024年最新调查数据显示，我国共拥有网球场地53805片
11	Diving	中国跳水”梦之队”包揽奥运8金、创造历史的成绩依然令人兴奋和骄傲。

Most Played and Most Watched Are Not the Same Sport

Membership and license numbers tell you what people do. Audience figures tell you what they watch, and the two lists rarely have the same sport on top.

Sport	Figure	What it measures
Soccer	4,663,507	The 2024 Chinese Super League season drew the largest cumulative stadium crowds of any domestic league season in China.
Volleyball	17,816	A June 2026 Volleyball Nations League match in Nanjing set the competition’s all time single match attendance record.

Is There a National Sport of China?

China has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. China’s Sports Law, most recently revised in 2022, governs sports organization and national fitness policy nationwide but does not designate any single sport as a legally recognized national sport.

Table Tennis. Table tennis is widely treated as China’s de facto national sport by state media, even without a legal designation.

Sports That Were Invented in China

Cuju (ancestor of association football). FIFA cites cuju, a Chinese kicking game, as the earliest documented form of football.
Wushu. Wushu developed from ancient Chinese combat practices and was standardized into its modern competitive form in China after 1949.
Dragon Boat Racing. Dragon boat racing traces back more than 2,000 years to ancient China and the legend of Qu Yuan, before becoming an international competitive sport.

#1 Table Tennis

Governing body: Chinese Table Tennis Association
Top national league: China Table Tennis Super League
Best known athlete: Ma Long. Won a sixth Olympic gold medal at the Paris 2024 Games, making him the most decorated Olympic table tennis player in history, alongside 14 World Championship titles

Table tennis is described by Chinese state media as the country’s national ball, a status built on decades of international dominance since the national team formed in 1952. The sport is organized nationally by the Chinese Table Tennis Association and is played widely in schools, parks and community centers across the country.

The men’s team is led by Ma Long, who became the most decorated Olympic table tennis player of all time after winning his sixth gold medal at the Paris 2024 Games, adding to 14 World Championship titles won over his career.

Latest Posts about Table Tennis

#2 Badminton

Governing body: Chinese Badminton Association
Top national league: China Badminton Super League
Best known athlete: Lin Dan. Won back to back Olympic men’s singles titles at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, and won all nine major badminton titles over his career

Badminton has the largest documented playing population of any sport in China. In 2014 the chairman of the Chinese Badminton Association put the country’s badminton playing population at 250 million, describing it as the sport most widely practiced by ordinary Chinese people.

Lin Dan, nicknamed Super Dan, is the sport’s best known Chinese player. He won the Olympic men’s singles title in 2008 and defended it in 2012, and retired in 2020 after two decades on the international circuit.

Latest Posts about Badminton

#3 Basketball

Governing body: Chinese Basketball Association
Top national league: Chinese Basketball Association (CBA)
Best known athlete: Yao Ming. First overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft, eight time NBA All-Star, and the first China born player inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016

Basketball is described in the China Basketball Sports Development Report as the country’s leading team sport, with a general playing population of about 125 million people and a core playing population of about 76.1 million. The Chinese Basketball Association runs the men’s top division, the CBA.

Yao Ming carried the sport’s international profile after becoming the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. He was named to eight NBA All Star teams and in 2016 became the first China born player inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Latest Posts about Basketball

#4 Soccer

Governing body: Chinese Football Association
Top national league: Chinese Super League (CSL)
Best known athlete: Wu Lei. Became the first Chinese player to score a goal in La Liga, for Espanyol against Real Valladolid on March 2, 2019, a goal watched by an estimated 25 million fans in China

China had 539,000 registered football players as of October 2024, according to the Chinese Football Association’s digital registration platform, a figure that does not yet include all school level players. The men’s top division, the Chinese Super League, draws the largest stadium crowds of any domestic league in the country.

Wu Lei became the first Chinese player to score a goal in Spain’s La Liga, doing so for Espanyol in March 2019 in a match watched by an estimated 25 million fans back home, a sign of the sport’s reach even as the men’s national team has struggled internationally.

Latest Posts about Soccer

#5 Volleyball

Governing body: Chinese Volleyball Association
Top national league: China Volleyball Super League
Best known athlete: Zhu Ting. Named MVP of the women’s volleyball tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympics, where China won the gold medal, scoring a tournament high 33 points in the semifinal against the Netherlands

Volleyball draws some of the largest live crowds of any sport played by a Chinese national team. A June 2026 Volleyball Nations League match in Nanjing set a new single match attendance record for the competition worldwide, with 17,816 spectators inside the venue.

The women’s team’s biggest recent star is Zhu Ting, named MVP of the 2016 Rio Olympics after China won the gold medal, a result that cemented volleyball’s place among the country’s most followed team sports.

Latest Posts about Volleyball

#6 Distance Running

Governing body: China Athletics Association
Best known athlete: He Jie. Set the Chinese men’s marathon national record of 2:06:57 at the Wuxi Marathon in March 2024 and won China’s first ever men’s marathon gold medal at the Asian Games in October 2023

China held 749 road running events in 2024, drawing a combined 7.05 million participants across the year, according to the China Athletics Association’s annual report on the discipline. The figure covers organized marathons and other certified road races, not casual jogging.

He Jie is the sport’s best known current Chinese runner. He set the national men’s marathon record of 2:06:57 at the Wuxi Marathon in March 2024 and had already become the first Chinese man to win a marathon gold medal at the Asian Games in 2023.

#7 Skiing and Ice Skating

Governing body: National Winter Sports Management Center, General Administration of Sport of China
Best known athlete: Eileen Gu. Won two gold medals and one silver in freestyle skiing at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, becoming the youngest Olympic freestyle skiing champion at age 18 and the first athlete to win three freestyle skiing medals at a single Games

Participation in skiing and ice skating grew rapidly after Beijing hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics. In the 2024 to 2025 winter season, 292 million residents took part in ice and snow sports at least once, a participation rate of 20.61 percent, according to the sport authority that oversees winter sports.

Eileen Gu became the face of the sport’s growth in China, winning two gold medals and one silver in freestyle skiing at the Beijing 2022 Games and becoming, at 18, the youngest Olympic freestyle skiing champion.

#8 Esports

Governing body: China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association
Best known athlete: Li Xiaofeng (Sky). Won the Warcraft III title at the World Cyber Games in 2005, China’s first world championship in esports, and defended the title in 2006

China’s esports user base has grown into the largest of any country, reaching 490 million people in 2024 according to the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association’s annual industry report.

Li Xiaofeng, known by the alias Sky, won China’s first world esports title at the World Cyber Games Warcraft III tournament in 2005 and defended it in 2006, becoming the country’s first widely recognized professional gamer.

#9 Wushu

Governing body: Chinese Wushu Association
Best known athlete: Jet Li (Li Lianjie). Won the All Around National Wushu Champion title of China for five consecutive years from 1975 to 1979, a record that has not been matched since, before becoming an international film actor

Wushu is China’s own martial art, with roots the International Wushu Federation traces back to combat practices of the Bronze Age. After 1949 its many regional styles were standardized under the single term wushu and organized as a competitive sport under the Chinese Wushu Association.

Jet Li, born Li Lianjie, won the All Around National Wushu Champion title of China for five consecutive years between 1975 and 1979 before his competitive retirement at 17, a run that remains unmatched, and later carried the sport’s profile abroad through his film career.

#10 Tennis

Governing body: Chinese Tennis Association
Best known athlete: Li Na. Won the 2011 French Open, becoming the first Asian born player to win a Grand Slam singles title, a match a record 116 million viewers in China watched on television

China’s tennis playing population reached 25,188,388 people as of a survey dated August 31, 2024, up 28 percent from the International Tennis Federation’s 2021 count, according to the sport authority’s National Tennis Administrative Center. The country also added court capacity, with 53,805 tennis courts counted in the same survey.

Li Na remains the sport’s best known Chinese player. She won the 2011 French Open, becoming the first Asian born player to win a Grand Slam singles title, a final a record 116 million viewers in China watched live on television.

Latest Posts about Tennis

#11 Diving

Governing body: Chinese Diving Association
Best known athlete: Quan Hongchan. Won Olympic gold in the women’s 10m platform at Tokyo 2020 at age 14, and won two more golds at Paris 2024 in the 10m platform and 10m synchro events, becoming a three time Olympic champion by age 17

China’s diving team, nicknamed the Dream Team by domestic media, swept all 8 available Olympic gold medals in diving at the Paris 2024 Games, a result China Daily described as historic. The team is organized nationally by the Chinese Diving Association.

Quan Hongchan is the sport’s youngest star, winning Olympic gold in the women’s 10m platform at Tokyo 2020 at age 14 and adding two more golds at Paris 2024, becoming a three time Olympic champion while still a teenager.

Sources

Figures on this page come from national federations and statistics offices and are only as current as their latest published report. Last reviewed: August 2026.

FAQ

What is the most popular sport in China?

China does not publish one comparable participation figure across all sports, but table tennis is described by state media as the country’s national ball, and badminton has the largest documented playing population at 250 million people, reported in 2014 by the chairman of the Chinese Badminton Association.

What is the national sport of China?

China has no legally designated national sport. The country’s Sports Law, revised in 2022, sets rules for sports organizations and national fitness without naming a national sport. Table tennis is nonetheless widely treated as the de facto national sport, called China’s national ball by state media.

What sports are China good at?

China’s diving team swept all 8 gold medals in diving at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Table tennis player Ma Long is the most decorated Olympic table tennis player in history with six gold medals, and badminton player Lin Dan won back to back Olympic singles titles in 2008 and 2012.

What are popular sports in China?

Badminton has the largest reported playing population in China at 250 million people. Basketball follows with a general playing population of about 125 million, described by the Chinese Basketball Association as the country’s leading team sport, and soccer has 539,000 registered players with the Chinese Super League drawing the largest stadium crowds of any domestic league.

Is table tennis China’s national sport?

Not by law. China’s Sports Law does not designate a legal national sport, but table tennis is widely called the national ball in Chinese state media, a status built on the sport’s international dominance since the national team formed in 1952.