Pushing the sport of kings in China

China’s nouveau riche have embraced golf, yachting, private airplanes, luxury cars and clothes, fine French wine and expensive trips to Europe. Now the tastes of the country’s beau monde are escalating to a new level of elite with what is apparently a growing affinity for the so-called sport of kings: polo.

China’s aristocratic class’ interest in the equestrian sport was on full display last Thursday in Tianjin, a second-tier city on the outskirts of Beijing, with the grand opening of the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club & Hotel, a private club. According to a press release, the club is for “Tianjin’s most privileged members only.” 

The Goldin Metropolitan, built by the Hong Kong developer Goldin Properties Holdings, Ltd., is the first polo club in Tianjin. There are several others around Beijing, one in Shanghai and, according to sources, another club somewhere in the south.

Memberships to the Goldin Metropolitan, billed as “the most prestigious club in China,” are by invitation and start at RMB 200,000 (about US$30,000) for “social members” to RMB 10 million (about US$1.5 million) for owners of polo teams. 

Polo arrives in China

Around a thousand potential members arrive on the smoggy, sunlit Thursday morning for Goldin’s inaugural polo coming-out party, held on one of its two international-sized polo fields surrounded by the not-quite-finished neo-classically designed luxury hotel, and stables for 150 horses. 

Police block the streets surrounding the fields for the arrival of local government officials, including the mayor of Tianjin. Chinese staff chaotically cart trays of sandwiches, petits fours and champagne into white tents. Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” plays in the background while guests, dressed in designer suits with boutonnières for the men and corsages for the women, enter via red carpet. 

After the mayor, surrounded by Chinese women wearing red qipao and Russian models in short, gold dresses and white fur wraps, delivers a speech about how wonderful the club is for Tianjin, a city with a population of 12 million and one of the highest GDPs in China, the polo match commences.

The horses and their riders were flown in from Australia, New Zealand and England. Russian dancers perform Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” during half time. By about 1 p.m. the show is over, the awards are given and an after party with champagne and fireworks that lasts well into the evening begins. 

Polo explosion

“In a very short period of time, there will be an explosion of polo,” says Rowland Wong, president of the Goldin Metropolitan. “The company would like to be on the front end of the wave, not at the end of the wave. That is why Goldin has taken such a keen interest in promoting polo, but at the same time, polo goes along with the prestige and branding.”

And, in China, polo also goes along with selling real estate.

When complete, the Goldin Metropolitan will have villas, office space, condominiums, restaurants, a spa and other recreational facilities. The recently opened Nine Dragons Polo Club near Shanghai has a golf course, marina, five-star Westin Resort Hotel and private condominiums overlooking the ocean.

“Of course we want polo associated with our properties,” Wong says. “You can say this is a horse property, which is very unique in China. There are not too many of them around.”

Sources say at least 18 other similar properties are slated to open across the country over the next couple of years. Wong says Goldin also has plans to expand elsewhere.

Real estate, always a hot topic in China, is why some say they are worried whether China’s interest in polo will endure, particularly once the developers of polo resorts have sold their properties and made their money.

“The danger in China is using polo as a vehicle to sell property. Once the property is sold, there is still the upkeep for the horses. You can’t think this is something I am going to do temporarily,” says a manager of another Asian polo club who declined to be identified due to his connections with Goldin Metropolitan. “To some people that is the perception. Is it going to be here five years from now? Ten years from now? One hundred years from now when you have a legacy?”

The Goldin Metropolitan has a 30-year land lease in Tianjin. The Calcutta Polo Club, the oldest in the world, was founded in 1834.

For love or money

An elite sport steeped in history, played by kings, princes and nobility, embodied by a global class of cultural aristocrats and luxury, others say they fear that China’s upper classes are only interested in it because they can afford to be, not because they actually care about, or even understand, the sport of royalty.

“Golf has become mainstream -- anyone can play golf. Not everyone can play polo. Not everyone can be a member of a polo club. It comes at a price but you are selling a dream, you are selling luxury brands, you are selling something that is unobtainable to most,” says the Asian polo club manager. “A lot of it is face. You want to be seen here. You need to be seen here.”

“At the moment, they [the Chinese] hear the word polo and are more concerned about the image and the status of the game rather than a general understanding of the sport,” says Craig Wilson, a professional polo player from New Zealand who was flown in to play in the event. “Exposure to the game will increase their interest in riding and playing. It won’t take long before there is a grassroots structure of young players starting over here, I think.”

Liu Shilai, a prominent businessman in Beijing and grandson of one of China’s former vice premiers, is one Chinese trying to cultivate an interest in the sport beyond its social cache.

Around five years ago, Liu met the Jordanian Ambassador to China at a local equestrian club who introduced him to polo. Later, Liu moved to Australia and Argentina to practice.

Now he is back in Beijing with a polo club of his own where he holds weekly scrimmages with Chinese players who also trying to learn the game.

“All the Chinese players love polo the same as serious polo players all over the world,” Liu says while sitting on the sidelines of the Goldin Metropolitan field. “They love the polo, not the social, not the party. They love this sport. This is the beginning. Polo will happen and it will grow faster and will be good in China.”

This week, Liu will travel to Argentina for a month to continue studying polo. In February, the Goldin Metropolitan will hold the Metropolitan Snow Polo Challenge Trophy, an event “intended to become an annual fixture in the international polo calendar and a highlight of China’s social calendar,” according to organizers.