WGF Council Meeting focuses on strategic planning for 2026

Guandan is a poker game primarily popular in East China, especially in Huai'an and its surrounding areas. Originating from Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province, it is also known as "Huai'an Guandan". It evolved from the local poker games of "Paodekuai" and "Bashifen".

Guandang is an intellectual game played with two decks of playing cards, involving four players paired in twos. Players draw and play cards in a counterclockwise direction, with the order of finishing all cards in hand determining promotion. The number of promotions determines the winner. In January 2005, the Huai'an Sports Bureau began formulating the basic playing method of "Huai'an Guandang". In 2014, Guandang was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Huai'an. In 2016, Guandang was included as an official competition event in the Seventh Jiangsu Provincial National Fitness Games and as a demonstration event in the International Mind Sports Federation Huai'an Elite Tournament. In January 2017, Huai'an Guandang was included as an official competition event in the National Fun Chess and Card Games category by the Chess and Card Games Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, officially entering competitive sports. On October 31, 2022, the municipal standard for "Guandang" titled "Guandang Terms and Definitions" (DB3208/T 173-2022) was officially released and implemented from December 1. On March 23, 2024, the launch ceremony and first round of the second China Workers' Guandang Championship was held at the Ditan Gymnasium in Beijing. On May 20, 2024, the Chess and Card Games Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China announced that the National Guanpai (Guandang) Open would be held in 2024. Through a three-tier competition system at the municipal, provincial, and national levels, the national Guandang champion will be determined. 

In 2023, the number of newly registered enterprises related to "Guandang" (a Chinese card game) in China reached 152, marking a significant increase of 153.3% compared to 2022. As of mid-May 2024, China has registered 188 new enterprises related to "Guandang", far exceeding the 152 registered in 2023. Since 2023, over 20 million people in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces alone have regularly participated in various "Guandang" activities, and the number of "Guandang" enthusiasts in China has surpassed 140 million.