Slated for success

If Dongguan represents China's talent pipeline, then Yushan in Jiangxi province is the sport's industrial base.

The county, located at the intersection of Jiangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, originally developed through slate production for billiard tables. Over the past two decades, it has transformed into a comprehensive billiards industry cluster spanning manufacturing, events, training, refereeing and branding.

It's estimated that China accounts for the majority of the world's billiards tables and related equipment, with Yushan a key production hub.

Yushan International Billiards Culture City includes a modern 4,000-seat arena built to professional tour standards in lighting, broadcasting and event production. Adjacent to it, the World Billiards Museum traces the evolution of cue sports from their origins to globalization, giving the city both manufacturing and cultural significance.

Since 2016, the World Snooker Open and other major tournaments have been regularly staged in Yushan, establishing it as one of Asia's leading snooker destinations. All-time snooker great Ronnie O'Sullivan lost the World Open to Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh there in March.

Just as importantly, Yushan has become a major source of emerging talent.

The Yushan International Billiards Academy introduced international coaching methods and standardized curricula, creating a direct route to the professional tour.

Wu completed a key stage of his training there at the age of 11 under renowned Australian coach Rodney Leighton, focusing on fundamentals and match rhythm.

Leighton recalled of young Wu: "Just a few weeks later, he made a break of 86. I said to him, 'That's fantastic, incredible!' But he replied, 'It's no good, because if it was Ronnie (O'Sullivan), he would have cleared the table.'"

The intensity of the training culture has led many in the sport to describe Yushan as the "cradle of Chinese snooker champions".

The city has also accelerated the integration of technology into the sport, including digital refereeing, performance analytics and smart tournament management tools designed to improve accuracy and transparency.