Meet Pingtan: The future baseball/softball demonstration complex welcomes WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup Group B

Pingtan County, the centre of the economic comprehensive pilot zone of southeastern China, will host the WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup Group B and welcome world No. 2 Puerto Rico, No. 3 Japan, No. 6 Italy, No. 8 Netherlands, No. 14 Peru, and No. 17 and hosts China for an exciting five-day tournament from 14-18 August.

Once a horse herding area in 1048 A.D. of the Sung Dynasty, Pingtan now consists of 126 islands and 648 reef rocks with a land area of 372 square kilometres and a sea area of 6,064 square kilometres. Its main island, Haitan, with an area of 324 square kilometres, is the fourth largest island in China and the biggest in the Fujian Province of southeastern China. Its easternmost island is 140 kilometres away from Taiwan, making it the city with the shortest distance across the Taiwan Strait.

The “Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone,” aneconomic project aiming to speed up the development of the western coast of the Taiwan Strait, wasestablished in 2009. Its administration committee has been the joint authorityof Pingtan County with the County Government since 2010. According to the 2022census, Pingtan has a population of over 450,000, with 220,000 living in themetropolitan area. This vibrant economy and growing population make Pingtan anexciting host for the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup Group B.

With its maritime location, Pingtan is known for its variety of fishing produce, including yellow fish and cutlassfish, among others. Its mineral resources include coal, iron, copper and quartz, while mining, salt making, fishery and seafood processing, machinery, and shipbuilding are among the most important categories of its industries. This diverse economic landscape adds to the city's charm and makes it an ideal location for the upcoming tournament.

Under the Koppen climate classification, Pingtan has a humid subtropical climate, with mild winters and hot, humid summers, though much cooler than inland places. The average temperature in August is between 25.8 degrees and 30.5 degrees Celsius.

Pingtan
Softball Stadium

Pingtan Softball Stadium was built in 2015 in time for the inaugural Youth Games of the People’s Republic of China and became the newest international-standard softball stadium in China. The 100-million-RMB complex includes two fields (primary and secondary fields) and training grounds with approximately 5,000 spectator seats and a giant video board.

The stadium has hosted various baseball and softball tournaments, including the inaugural Baseball5 event in China and the U-18 Women’s Softball Asia Cup 2023, among other national and provincial tournaments.

The complex is currently being expanded, and three more baseball fields are being built to become one of the leading baseball/softball demonstration complexes in the country.

The WBSC Women's Softball Cup 2006 - a Beijing Olympic Games qualification tournament - was held in Beijing in 2006 while Nanjing hosted the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup in 2003.