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Curling
Although unheard of and unpopular, Curling has begun making gradual progress in China's sporting arena. The Chinese teams both Men and Women have improved at the international level. At the 2008 Ford World Women's Championships, the Chinese Curling team consisting of Zhou Yan, Yin Liu, Bingyu Wang, and Yue QingShuang had a surprising silver medal finish. At the 2008 World Men's Curling Championship, the Chinese didn't have as much success, but they also did very well, finishing 4th.
Figure skating
China is currently one of the top nations in figure skating. In the pairs events China dominates the field: enjoying a silver and a gold medal at the world championships 2007 in Tokyo. However, China is weak in the other 3 disciplines (men, women, ice dance), which are dominated by France, Russia and the USA.
Football (soccer)
Football has been one of the most well supported sports in China ever since it was introduced in the 1900s. China is recognized by FIFA as the founding nation of football. The current Chinese Football Association was founded in the People's Republic of China after 1949. Its headquarters is located in Beijing. The Chinese Super League is the premier football league in China, which was changed from "jia A" in 2004, as the top of a league hierarchy that extends to four leagues. Since its foundation the Super League has been relatively unstable, and is largely controlled by corporate interests that change hands frequently. At the international level, Chinese football has enjoyed little success despite the amount of support it receives from fans. Although the national team qualified for the 2002 World Cup, they failed to score a single goal and lost all three group matches.
Football has always been one of the most popular amateur team sports for recreation in China, although in recent years its status has been rivaled by basketball. High schools often have football facilities, some of which are rented on weekends to local amateur teams to organize matches.
Golf
At the amateur level, Golf is seen as the top recreational sport for businesspeople and officials. Because of their relatively high position in Chinese society, they are usually the only people with access to the sport of Golf on mainland China.
Rugby Union
Rugby union is becoming a more popular sport in China, than it previously has been. However, it is still not overly popular. China became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1997 and is currently ranked 40th in the world, ahead of Madagascar and just behind Sweden. The national team failed to qualify for the 1999 Rugby World Cup and the 2007 Rugby World Cup. One segment of Chinese society where rugby is particularly popular is the military. Rugby is an official sport of the People's Liberation Army.
Snooker
Although pool, or more specifically, billiards, has long been a popular street recreation sport in China, Snooker's popularity has increased over the last few years in China. It can partly be attributed to the ascension of young Chinese player Ding Junhui who has since broken into the international Top 10. More and more young Chinese players are breaking onto the professional circuit such as Liang Wenbo and Liu Chuang who both qualified for the last 32 of the World Snooker Championship 2008.
Tennis
Tennis is a growing recreational sport in China, although access to tennis courts can be limited in densely populated urban areas. Recently Chinese tennis players, especially women, have seen success, internationally, both at the amateur and professional level. International tennis tournaments receive wide coverage on Chinese sporting channels.
