PANDA POWER STILL GOING STRONG

The whole panda thing is never knowingly undersold by Chengdu and the Sichuan province. There was no organised trip to see them this year, and Ronnie O’Sullivan insisted he might go “another time” when asked if he planned to use his early day off to visit one of the nearby reserves, opting instead for a hard day’s practice.

But there was little escape from images of the endangered species around the complex, with cuddly toys strewn over every desk. And coverage of the tournament on CCTV5 featured trailers after every advert break featuring a grinning John Higgins and Shaun Murphy waving a black and white soft toy as big as 10-year-old child at the camera.

GREEN FOR GO AT OPENING CEREMONY

The traditional opening ceremony was almost low-key by China standards, and lacking the horse-drawn carriage ride for pairs of players that were a prominent feature last time the International Championship was staged at the Sichuan Tennis Center two years ago.

The traditional red carpet was swapped for a green one, and players had to sit through a series of speeches from bigwigs flanked by two giant alabaster-looking giant pandas and three more in mascot costume in the post-match press conference room at the venue, before retiring to the adjacent hotel for dinner on the Saturday.

This tournament has led a slightly nomadic existence in its brief history with already two switches of venue, now back at the original site. And the table-fitters were given extra time to prepare this year, enabling them to bed the tables in properly and make some of the ‘moving ground’ issues that dogged the operation in 2012 less likely to impact on the conditions.

ABSENT BIG GUNS LEAVE DRAW OPENINGS

The absences of world champion and world No1 Mark Selby, and defending champion and home favourite Ding Junhui, led to a slightly lop-sided looking draw at the International Championship. At first glance likely beneficiaries appeared to be Stuart Bingham and Shaun Murphy, who would have had Ding and Selby in their respective quarters. But after negotiating their first-round matches in Chengdu to reach the last 32 both were sensibly refusing to get carried away over their prospects with a very long way still to go.

TABLE TENNIS STILL RULES ROCKET IN CHINA

Ronnie O’Sullivan might be snooker’s big cheese, but even the Rocket had to play second fiddle to China’s table tennis superstar Zhang Jike over the weekend on sports TV channel CCTV5.

The broadcaster show hundreds of hours of snooker each season, and coverage of the big home tournaments is always comprehensive and generally live.

But the five-time world champion’s first-round match in Chengdu against Ben Woollaston had to wait for live airtime until the conclusion of a World Cup match in Dusseldorf between Zhang and Germany’s Timo Boll.

Winner of an Olympic gold medal at London 2012, Zhang is a brilliant but controversial figure in the world of table tennis. He went to pick up another gold medal in Germany on Sunday but was docked prize money for a wild celebration that saw him destroy parts of the surrounding arena.

Maybe that’s the post-victory celebration snooker is missing…

MAH JONG USED AS MOTIVATION

The posters and other promotional literature used at the International Championship tournament featured as well as players involved the prominent legend ‘Fight To The End’.

In fact this was more than just a cheesy slogan, but a nod to Mah Jong – the Chinese game using tiles to make sets and played at lightning pace - think bridge on speed - on many street corners in Chengdu, where the pastime has a particularly strong following.

Mah Jong in the Chengdu region is played by different rules – meaning the hand is not over when the first player wins and goes out, but the rest scrap it out for second, third and fourth.

According to the ever-reliable World Snooker press officer Tai Chengzhe, China are still reeling from coming 34th in the team event of their traditional game at an international tournament staged recently in Europe.

You can only imagine that the real pros, the hustlers creating a deafening clacking of bamboo and ivory pieces out on the street, were not involved.

CHENGDU RELAXED AND READY

Chengdu is regarded by the rest of China as a city that knows how to enjoy itself – from the culinary delicacies of the region, usually with extra chillies, to visiting the nearby mountains and making the most of a temperate climate and some cooler air.

Often dismissed as a ‘small’ city by the likes of Beijing and Shanghai – these things are of course relative, there are 12 million inhabitants – Chengdu’s laid-back and relaxed atmosphere even sees its people occasionally branded ‘lazy’, in dare we say it a lazy way, by other parts of China.

But that description did not fit the hive of activity around the Sichuan Tennis Center in the build-up, with the event again only confirmed at relatively short notice. The promoters and armies of workers and dedicated volunteers again pulled out all the stops to have the facility ready for the off on opening Sunday.

BINGHAM IN LINE FOR A PINT

With the prize money on offer at the Champion of Champions, Stuart Bingham could be due a drink this week from certainly John Higgins and maybe also Ali Carter.

Bingham’s win at the Haining Open guaranteed Higgins a place at the Ricoh Arena and in an exclusive field of just 16, where the minimum he will earn is £5,000 even for finishing third or fourth in the initial group.

Finishing second in Coventry will be worth £10,000, winning the group £20,000, reaching the final £50,000 and lifting the trophy £100,000.

Bingham had already qualified on more than one count, but a win for his final opponent Oliver Lines would have knocked out Carter and left Higgins at risk of not making it, dependent on results in Chengdu at the International Championship.

Higgins and Bingham will both be in south-west China this week, when the favour could be called in at the bar.