Sept 05 : China warms to ArtScape images featuring Ding Jun Hui

ArtScape, which is changing the appearance of pool tables in many parts of the world including the USA, has made its debut in China.

Being China, ArtScape had to be seen on a big stage and there is nothing bigger than the China International Sporting Goods Show in Shanghai, which attracted 1,000 exhibitors from 30 countries and 50,000 visitors from 70 countries.

UK-based Milliken Woollen Speciality Products, which manufacturers snooker and pool table cloth and owns the ArtScape concept, exhibited alongside Aramith, the Belgian ball manufacturer.

Centrepiece was a 9ft pool table (pictured) featuring Chinese snooker sensation Ding Jun Hui. Ding proved his enormous potential when just days after his 18th birthday he won the China Open in front of more than 100 million people watching on TV.

The market for cuesports in China had already stared to buzz after Ding’s success in the World Under 21 Championship and his semi-final appearance at the Masters in Wembley, reports Joyce Chay, Milliken’s Asia Pacific marketing manager.

“Television coverage and Ding’s success has been imperative in building people’s awareness of the Strachan 6811 brand name and cuesports generally. By comparison, when Shaun Murphy beat Matthew Stevens in the Embassy World Championships, the BBC2 audience in the UK peaked at 7.8 million.

“Here in China, with a population of 1.3 billion and 800 clubs in Beijing alone, Ding has stimulated huge interest in snooker and pool, which is the bigger game worldwide. The strong imagery offered by ArtScape made a big impact on manufacturers and distributors and seeing Ding digitally-printed on the cloth endorsed their view that both snooker and pool have a big future here in China,” said Joyce.