Snooker's greatest players gathered together with officials from the Shaanxi Province on Sunday, on the eve of the new Du Xiaoman Xi'an Grand Prix.
The players were welcomed by fans and media with a red carpet ceremony, followed by special performances from traditional dancers and musicians, then a banquet as the event was officially opened.
The new £850,000 world ranking event gets underway on Monday with the likes of Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Allen, Ding Junhui, Judd Trump and John Higgins all in action at the Xi’an Qujiang Sports Centre.
Fans can watch LIVE and FREE on Matchroom Live from Monday, across territories including the UK and Europe. For details of how to watch, CLICK HERE.
In his welcome address, WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: "It is a great honour for everyone on the tour to visit the incredible city of Xi’an for the first time. We have staged events in many parts of China and we are excited to meet new friends and discover the traditions of the Shaanxi Province.
"Xi’an is one of the most historic locations in the world, as one of the four ancient capitals of China and the starting point of the Silk Road. These extraordinary stories stretch back for thousands of years, and it is a great privilege for all of us to visit the province and learn more about the past, and ambitions for the future. We share the ambition to grow and develop our sport and to build a bright future for everyone connected with snooker. This event is another huge step forward on this adventure."
Did You Know?
Xi'an's Extraordinary History
Xi’an is most famous as the home of the Terracotta Warriors, a collection of over 8,000 stone sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, considered the first emperor of China. The sculptures were buried with his body when he died around 209BC, then lay undiscovered until 1974 when a group of farmers, while digging for water, made one of the greatest ever archaeological finds.
Xi’an was one of the four ‘ancient capitals’ of China, going back over 3,000 years to the Western Zhou dynasty. It was also renowned as the furthest eastern point of the ‘Silk Road’ trade routes which stretched 4,000 miles from Europe to China from around 100BC to 1450AD.
