Gongti Turns 60: A Look Back at the Stadium's Moments in History
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Contrary to popular foreigner belief, “Gongti” is more than just a spot in Sanlitun around which the city’s hottest clubs have gathered. This August, Beijing’s Workers’ Stadium will celebrate 60 years of sporting events since it opened in August of 1960.
Over the years, its capacity of 66,161 has enabled countless fans to watch major events live, and while the stadium falls short of the title for largest stadium in Beijing – that honor goes to the National Stadium – what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in history.
Currently, the stadium is undergoing major renovations that have led to closures of nearby venues, but when it gets up and running again, its future is sure to be as rich as its past. Here are our top moments in Workers’ Stadium history:1961: The World Table Tennis Championship
Zhuang Zedong gives the ball a hard whack at the 1961 championship
In the world of table tennis, the 1960s are remembered as the decade that China began to dominate the rest of the world in the sport. Today, the country holds 145 World Table Tennis Championship gold medals, and it all started when China hosted its first championship in 1961. The actual championship was held next door in Worker’s Gymnasium, but a sizable opening ceremony was held at the stadium.
That year, China swept up the medals, winning gold in men’s team cup, as well as both men’s and women’s singles. Altogether, the country took three gold medals, four silver medals, and eight bronze medals, forever changing the way that ping-pongers would view Chinese players.The HK team celebrates their victory at Workers' Stadium
May 19, 1985 is one of the most infamous dates in the saga of the rivalry between the China national football team (“Team Dragon”) and the Hong Kong football team (“The Strength”). That day in Workers’ Stadium, thousands of Chinese fans were hoping for a victory that would qualify their team for their first World Cup. When Hong Kong beat the People’s Republic two to one, fans were more than a little disappointed, taking to the streets for the country’s first-ever football-related incident of “hooliganism.” China would not qualify for the Cup until 2002.
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World-record track runner Wang Junxia runs carrying the Chinese flag
In September of 1993, Chinese track star Wang Junxia set two world records within five days of one another – both at Workers’ stadium. The feats earned her the nickname 东方神鹿 dōngfāng shén lù the magic deer of the East.
After having set her first world record in Stuttgart, Germany that August (despite having been ill just before the race), she went on to set the 10,000-meter record, which she held onto until 2016, and 3,000-meter record, which she still holds today. The second and third place records in that category were also set at the stadium that day by her teammates, Qu Yunxia and Zhang Linli.
1996: Guo’an Comes to Gongti
The Sinobo Guo’an football team actually predates Workers’ Stadium, having been founded in 1951. However, the team spent its first 45 years at another stadium in southern Dongcheng known as Xiannongtan Stadium (don’t worry if you have never heard of it – there are no nightclubs there).
It wasn’t until 1996 that the team migrated to the more prestigious stadium. Currently, Guo’an plays at the National Stadium while Workers’ undergoes renovations, but they will return to their rightful home in 2023.1999: First Concert
The first concert performance at the stadium was very much in the fashion of the time
Just before the turn of the century, Workers’ Stadium held its first major concert, allowing pop star A-Mei to grace the stage as part of her second concert tour. That paved the way for dozens of packed concerts at the venue, including big-time performers such as Jay Chou (2008), Mariah Carrey (2014), and Linkin Park (2015).
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Images: Kuji Rolls, Pintrest, SCMP, New China, People's Daily
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