China's billiards sector scores big in global market

Driven by natural resources, technological innovation and major tournaments, China's billiards industry has forged a distinctive path of high-quality development.

Billiard table slates produced at the Xingpai Billiards Industrial Park in Yushan county, east China's Jiangxi Province, are exported to more than 70 countries and regions.

In the late 1990s, Beijing Xingpaiweiye Sports Goods Co., Ltd., which once relied on imported slabs to produce high-quality billiard tables, discovered an ideal material in Yushan's Zhangcun town — a bluestone prized for its elasticity, water absorption, durability and anti-static properties. The county boasts substantial bluestone reserves, estimated at 3 billion cubic meters.

The company established a table slate processing plant in Yushan and has steadily expanded its production capacity, spurring the growth of the local billiards manufacturing industry.

Yushan has gradually built a complete supply chain covering slate production, billiard table and accessory manufacturing, as well as sales and logistics, said Lian Liangyan, director of Yushan county's sports development center.

The county now produces 250,000 billiard table slates and 50,000 billiard tables annually, with an output value exceeding 1.5 billion yuan ($221.7 million). The billiards industry and related sectors have created jobs for nearly 10,000 local residents.

In 2015, Yushan hosted the first Chinese Billiard World Championship. Since then, the county has successfully hosted multiple editions of the event and the Snooker World Open, driving growth in related industries. Since 2015, more than 600 new hotels have opened in the county.

Bazhou city in north China's Hebei Province is home to more than 300 billiards industry enterprises, producing 700,000 billiard tables and 10 million billiard cues annually.

The city's billiards industry has transitioned from low-end contract manufacturing to mid-to-high-end production.

Workers inspect the quality of billiard cues at a sports equipment factory in Langfang, north China's Hebei Province. (Hebei Daily/Liu JIe)

Langfang Meishi Sporting Goods Co., Ltd. equips its flagship cue series with aerospace-grade carbon fiber composite materials, offering superior resistance to deformation compared with traditional wood. Another firm, Langfang Master Sporting Goods Co., Ltd., offers bespoke cues tailored to overseas professional players' grip habits, striking styles and aesthetic preferences.

A planned industrial park covering about 100 mu (6.67 hectares) in Bazhou city is expected to be completed by July. The site will integrate technology research and development, manufacturing, exhibition and sales, and tournament operations. Once completed, it will target mid-to-high-end billiards enterprises and position itself as an intelligent manufacturing hub for billiards equipment.

"Going forward, the park will establish an export-oriented sales platform, connecting businesses more efficiently with high-end overseas markets and helping local enterprises expand overseas together by hosting international billiards tournaments and inviting global buyers for on-site visits," said Yang Guoliang, director of Bazhou's industry development promotion center.

Backed by strong manufacturing capabilities and a well-developed supply chain, Dongguan city in south China's Guangdong Province has fostered a cluster of modern billiard table factories that handle everything from R&D, customization and production to sales and after-sales services. Export volumes have grown year on year. According to Huangpu Customs, billiards product exports from Dongguan reached 22.07 million yuan in the first quarter of 2026, up 29.7 percent year on year.

"To improve the stability and resilience of our billiard tables, we overcame key technical challenges, achieved a high level of process control, and adopted new materials to enhance the surface's resistance to sliding and friction," said Yao Xilin, general manager of Dongguan Bojue Sports Equipment Co., Ltd.

From raw material processing to finished-product assembly, the entire production process is independently controlled and standardized, ensuring that every table meets international standards for levelness, elasticity and stability, Yao added.

In Dongguan, snooker equipment manufacturing is shifting from conventional mechanical processing to smart manufacturing powered by digital technology. "Looking ahead, we plan to leverage international tournaments and other platforms to bring our products to a broader global market," Yao said.