Bund's-eye-view of Shanghai action

Promising breathtaking views to match the breathless action, the JP Morgan China Squash Open will kick off in The Peninsula Shanghai hotel near the Huangpu River on Sept 5.

The Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour is renowned for staging competitions in venues with spectacular vistas, with views of Egypt's pyramids, New York's Central Station and London's Tower Bridge all featuring in past events.

The Shanghai stop will be no different, with spectators able to savor views of the Bund as they watch the action on the terrace of the hotel's Palace Suite.

The PSA has upgraded this year's event to "gold tournament" status, meaning the sport's top players will be competing, including women's world No 1 Nour El Sherbini of Egypt and men's world No 5 Simon Rosner of Germany.

Wang Junjie and Li Dongjin will represent China.

"This competition is a great opportunity to learn from the top foreign players," said Li, who is preparing for the upcoming Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.

"I have been a part of this tournament from when it first arrived in China and now it has achieved a gold standard. I'm proud of the development of the sport in this country and I have noticed that more people now know about squash."

Squash's footprint has been steadily growing in China since the establishment of a training base following the tournament's debut in 2014.

"Squash is an elite sport, and the continuous hosting of a top-level squash event in Shanghai has not only attracted more and more people to the sport," said Song Huaxun, the director of squash in the General Administration of Sport of China.

"However, more importantly, more and more people are willing to go to squash courts to learn the sport.

"This has laid an important foundation for the development of squash, an Asian Games sport, in China. In the meantime, domestic elite squash players will have the opportunity to compete with the world-level players at the JP Morgan China Squash Open."