Rock music blasted through the loudspeakers at Wukesong Baseball Field in western Beijing on Friday as media from around the world watched the LA Dodgers take batting practice.

Hearing the cracks of the bats and seeing infielders scramble for grounders, one thing was clear: Major League Baseball has arrived in China.

"Big league baseball has come to China!" said Jim Lefebvre, manager of the Chinese national baseball team. "It's been a long time coming."

The main event won't get underway until this weekend when the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres face off in the China Series, a two-game exhibition on Saturday and Sunday that will mark the first MLB games ever played in China.

Lefebvre, whose team was at Wukesong to train with the two MLB sides, has seen baseball in China grow considerably since he took the job five years ago. Back then, he said, no one in China cared about baseball. But things have changed since then.

"I remember two years ago when the idea of the China Series was first suggested," Lefebvre recalled. "Mr Hu (Jianguo, former chief of China baseball) just leaned back in his chair and said, 'Wow' It's gonna be big. Two years later, here we are. This is a world event."

Shanghai native Zhang Yufeng, China's team captain, said this weekend's games would be a good chance to learn about baseball for fans and players alike.

"It's a great opportunity to watch pro baseball. It's like a festival for baseball fans," he said.

"For us, as players, we will try to learn something from watching the highest level of baseball in the world, how they throw the balls, how they make decisions at the big moments. That is the kind of knowledge the Chinese team lacks right now."

What China does not seem to lack is enthusiasm for the game. Several young fans flocked to Dodgers slugger Andruw Jones as he approached the dugout, offering baseballs, gloves and shirts for him to sign. Others posed for photos with the Dodgers' Chinese Taipei star pitcher Kuo Hong-chih amid a flurry of fluttering shutters.

Lefebvre acknowledged that many challenges lie ahead - but you have to start somewhere.

"It will take time, but it's a start, a big time start," he said. "I am thrilled to death."

(China Daily 03/15/2008 page12)