Rekindling China's polo passion

"The point of our investment into Kylin is because of its cultural value," said Cindy Xin, Fosun's project manager for the team.

"China is getting economically stronger than before, so awareness of all aspects of Chinese culture is raised too, and Chinese people have more confidence than before in their culture.

"We can stand in front of the world and be proud. Most people don't know polo originated in China, so this is a great time to tell them that.

"Kylin is a great international mix. Team leader Duncan is Chinese, the captain, Martin Roman, is from Argentina, and the other two team members are from the UK.

"Polo is a popular sport in the UK but it's forgotten in China, so it's a great chance for us to rediscover this lost part of our culture. Now the team has a base here at Burningfold, we hope we can help make polo more well known."

By chance, Kylin's first game at their new Burningfold home was against their landlords. It ended in a 10-3 loss, but the score failed to put a dampener on the day enjoyed by a crowd of around 1,000 spectators, or the welcome given the team by Tony Samuels, vice-chairman of Surrey County Council, who attended the match.

"I think it's absolutely wonderful that people from China want to come here to our beautiful county and be part of it, so I really welcome them here," Samuels said.

"To have a Chinese presence established here in Surrey like this, through the Kylin team, is great news, culturally and for business.

"We already have very successful basketball and ice hockey teams playing nearby in Guildford, which is where the University of Surrey is based, and we're going to try and attract more students from China there.

"Because of Brexit, we're going to be doing a lot more business with China, so anything that strengthens those connections and attracts Chinese people here to Surrey can only be a good thing."

Kylin's opening game may have ended in defeat, but the crowd enjoyed a day out in glorious weather at a stunning country location - and as far as Qiu is concerned, that made the day a success.

"Although I want to reintroduce the game to China, this isn't just about China - I want to establish the game for younger players everywhere," he said.

"You can't just rely on people being brought into the game by their parents. I want to make polo a game for all young people. At the moment, I'd say, in terms of development, out of 10 steps, football, tennis and basketball are on the seventh or eighth step, but polo is only on the second or third one, so there's still a long way to go.

"But I'm confident we can make the game more professional. If we do that, then more people will start to think about it."