The Year of the Dragon in China Angel Leigh McCoy An ancient Chinese proverb states that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." On November 14, 1998, Wizards of the Coast took a giant step and introduced Magic: the Gathering to China. Although the People's Republic of China lies all the way across the Pacific Ocean from the United States - not to mention whole universes away politically - Magic: the Gathering has begun to build a bridge between game-lovers in the two countries. 5th Edition and Portal were the original ambassadors to China, translated into the local language and gradually introduced into game stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Chengdu, and Nanjing. Urza's Saga followed in May, 1999. Classic (6th Edition) was released this past January, 2000. Portal Three Kingdoms debuted in October of 1999. Portal Three Kingdoms was designed as an introductory game for Asian players. It has a special connection to China because it's based on the famous Chinese epic about the Three Kingdoms period in ancient China. Its characters come right out of the pages of the Three Kingdoms historical novel. In 1999, Wizards opened an office in Beijing, China's capital city, in order to more effectively serve the country's growing number of players and to oversee the implementation of the Chinese tournament system. In the course of establishing this overseas office, many Wizards of the Coast representatives, including company founder Peter Adkison, visited China and learned that - it's true - Magic players are the same everywhere: enthusiastic competitors. China already has two Level-1 judges who oversee tournaments there. In 1999, China held a total of 209 sanctioned tournaments. On January 23, 2000, one of the two main distributors of Magic in China held its first annual, regional tournament in Beijing. This tournament culminated a series of seasonal competitions and drew 108 players from five cities. Magic: the Gathering eliminates many of the cultural differences and boundaries that exist between countries. For example, a Chinese player and an American player can sit across the table from one other and play a competitive game of Magic even though they don't speak each others' languages. While playing, they're speaking an international language, the one understood by all Magic enthusiasts, "Play/Draw, Upkeep, Combat and End of Turn." The sounds and syllables used to express these concepts may differ, but everyone knows how it works and can follow the game's progress. Because Magic is new to China, Chinese players have entered the tournament scene late in the game (if you'll pardon the pun). They have only the 5th Edition, Classic (6th Edition) and Urza's Saga sets at their disposal for Standard tournament deck-building. Despite this, Chinese players have shown creativity and resourcefulness in their approach to competitive Magic. Just like players in other countries, Chinese players surf the Internet in search of deck lists and exposés on powerful card combinations. They then learn from those combinations, even if they don't have access to the specific cards mentioned. Often, they tweak their decks with similar cards taken from their much more limited collections. They were Net-surfing all the way across the globe to find information on 6th Edition long before it even crossed the Chinese border. In addition to the delayed release dates and the limitations of playing with only three sets at your disposal, Chinese players have faced other challenges. In 1999, the four-member, national Chinese team traveled to the World Championships in Japan. Unfortunately, they missed the first day of competition due to visa problems. However, they did comparatively well during the remaining days of the competition. In the year 2000, the Chinese Year of the Dragon, as new sets are released worldwide, the Chinese Magic environment will catch up with the rest of the world, and Chinese players will be able to compete in the Standard tournament format more fully. Mercadian Masques, in English, will arrive in China on February 28, 2000. Nemesis appears on shelves there in April, and Prophecy will be released in July. China will join the rest of the world in its release schedule when Invasion makes its debut simultaneously worldwide. Knowing that Magic offers its people the opportunity to improve their minds and practice their strategy skills, China, along with many other areas of the world, views Magic as an intellectual sport. China's State Sport General Administration has provided the following for use on all Magic posters and packaging: An intellectual sport approved for launch and promotion as a demonstration program by the Sports-For-All Administration Center of the State Sport General Administration of China. We expect to see an increase in the number of skilled Magic competitors emerging from China. Chinese players have already proven themselves to be fierce competitors who embrace the mind-sport aspect of Magic. In the future, you may see Chinese names appearing in the highest ranking positions. Currently, the five highest ranking players in China, are Zhang Chao, Ning Zhang, Liang Dong, Jing M. Xiong and Li Liu. Watch for these names to climb the international rankings ladder in the near future. The Chinese National Championships occur on May 13-14, 2000, in Beijing. That grand tournament will determine the best Magic players in all of China. To learn more about this tournament, you can check out the official Wizards of the Coast website at . Or, in April of this year, the year of the Dragon, Wizards will launch its own Chinese site at . The Chinese website will maintain information in Chinese (CS), specific to players in China. You can look there to plan where you will play Magic while vacationing in China.