NANJING – Emerging from a local pastime in Huaian, Jiangsu province, in the 1960s, guandan (“throwing eggs”), a tactical yet luck-based poker game, has slowly gained popularity across the whole of China, with competitions now held nationwide throughout the year.
The game is played with two decks of cards by four players who form two teams, and follows specific rules. The players, who sit facing one another, aim to defeat the opposite pair by playing out all their cards before their opponents do. The game is strategically based on poker hands such as straights, full houses, pairs or single cards.
Mr Lan Guowei, deputy secretary-general of the Jiangsu Province Guandan Sports Association, said the game has intrigued more than 60 million people nationwide. The surge in popularity can be credited to enthusiastic promotion by local governments and avid card players.
The eclectic band of fans comprises individuals from various sectors, including finance, government, military and academia, Mr Lan said.
“The game’s attraction lies in its competitive nature and simplicity in understanding the basic rules. The thrill heightens as the game progresses and various tactics come into play. Success in the game is measured not just by tactics and cooperation, but there is an element of luck as well.”
Mr Jin Kuang, a researcher from the Huaian Guandan Association, said that official guandan competitions have been held in the city since the 1980s, and attributes the game’s national popularity to the locals who introduced the game to different regions.
“As an effective social tool, it bridges the gap between various cultural backgrounds and intellectual levels, allowing everyone to unite at the card table,” he said.
Player Zhu Yan, who works for a listed company in Wuxi, Jiangsu, said: “It’s especially popular in China’s economically vibrant Yangtze River Delta, and guandan has followed the area’s money into new regions.”
The player said the game, unlike Texas Hold’em, is better for social bonding, and is often played over tea or before or after dinner.
Signs of its popularity in the finance industry are evident. The Jiangsu Financial Industry Association held a guandan competition in August that saw wide participation from financial professionals in Zhenjiang city. Similarly, the China Development Bank had an online guandan competition for its employees in May. Suzhou Financial Union’s April competition attracted 64 financial institutions.
While the elite may try to socialise and strengthen connections on guandan tables, many elderly people like to watch others playing the game all day long on TV or online.
Ms Zhang Yang, who lives in Nanjing, Jiangsu, worries about her mother’s health when the 71-year-old watches guandan competitions on TV from afternoon to midnight.
“What concerns me is that she is too dedicated to the game. The uncertainty and competitiveness of the game influence her blood pressure,” she said, but she encouraged her mother to play the game with her friends during her leisure time to improve the agility of her brain.
The authorities are trying to make guandan, sometimes dubbed “Chinese bridge”, into a more formal sport.
On Saturday, Hainan province held its first competitive guandan training camp and more than 70 members of provincial-level clubs participated.
Also in August, Guizhou province established the country’s third provincial guandan association – after Jiangsu and Hainan provinces – in the capital Guiyang.
China Qiyuan, a management centre affiliated with the General Administration of Sport in charge of board and card games such as chess and bridge, officially standardised the game’s rules and issued guidelines on holding competitions in 2022.
The centre has held a series of open tournaments in 2023, and the game will be part of an exhibition event in the upcoming Fifth National Mind Sports Games to be held in Hefei, Anhui province, in late October and early November. Much has been done and more is under way to make it an official sports activity in China, according to Mr Lan. CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
