A softball association was established in Pingtan county on Wednesday, August 15, to promote the sport.

The Pingtan Softball (Baseball) Association will strive to create an atmosphere for the sport in Pingtan, an island city that will host softball games during the eighth National Intercity Games in 2015.

Currently there are 60 members, including 14 Taiwan people in the association. Chen Ming, chairman of Fujian Fuding Capital Management Ltd, was appointed as the head.

As Pingtan locals are not familiar with the sport, the association plans to carry out a series of campaigns to let more people learn about it.

"We will set up a local softball team as soon as possible, recruit big name coaches from Taiwan, and organize friendly games against Xiamen, Shanghai and Taiwan. We will also send coaches to schools in Pingtan to make the game a universal sport in Pingtan," said Chen.

Baseball (softball) boasts a history of more than 100 years in Taiwan and has become the most popular sport there. It's expected to serve as a new bridge linking Pingtan and Taiwan.

"Almost every school in Taiwan has its own baseball (softball) team. Statistics show there are more than 600 baseball teams in Taiwan," said Xue Qingde, director of the Taiwan Businessmen Association in Pingtan.

"Baseball has become Taiwan's calling card. It has gone beyond the function of sports, competitions and entertainment. It is a vital part of Taiwan's culture," said Zhang Shunxin, head of a cross-Straits cultural exchange association.

Pingtan plans to build Fujian's first standard baseball field in October. The site selection has been decided at Pingtan No 1 Middle School. It will include two baseball fields, one for competition and the other for practice, and stands with a capacity of 3,000 spectators.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Michael Thai