Xuancheng, well known for its ancient Hui-style architectures, joins a long list of prestigious hosts of the FIVB’s signature World League events
Xuancheng, China, June 29, 2016 - Street banners, big screens and a decorated venue have seen Xuancheng City in China taken over by the FIVB Volleyball World League, the first ever volleyball event in the city.
The town, which lies west of Shanghai will welcome the third week of the Group 2 Preliminary Round as Japan, Turkey, Slovakia and China all target a place in the Finals.
Turkey is ranking the second in the group with a 5-1 record over the last two weeks while Japan, Slovakia and China are ranked seventh, ninth and tenth respectively with the same 2-4 record.
The opening match will see Turkey take on Japan at 07:00 GMT on July 1, while host China face Slovakia at 09:00 GMT. The second day will see Slovakia versus Japan and China facing Turkey. The tournament will conclude with a match between China and Japan at 09:00 GMT on July 3.
This is the first time that Xuancheng has held such a high-profile international event. It is an historic moment for the city of Xuancheng, which has a strong cultural and historical background. It can now join a long list of prestigious hosts of the world’s premier annual men’s volleyball tournament.
Xuancheng City of Anhui Province, built in 109 B.C., is a famous historic and cultural city in China. Xuan paper (a high quality paper made in Xuancheng) production techniques has been selected into UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Xuan paper, inkstick, xuan writing brush and Huagu Opera have already been listed among the national-level intangible cultural heritage. It is well known that Xuancheng has cultivated many celebrities from all walks of life, like businessman Hu Xueyan, standard-bearer of the New Culture Movement Hu Shi and artist Wu Zuoren and so on. It is also well known for one of its prefectures - Jixi, which is the hometown of China’s former chairman, Mr. Hu Jintao.