On the evening of August 22, lights gradually illuminated the Xiadu Sports Center in Xia County. This modern facility, spanning over 200 acres, hosted its largest commercial event since opening—a star-studded concert that drew nearly 20,000 attendees, turning the venue into a sea of glowing light sticks. Since its launch, the center has become a hub for major competitions, performances, and football matches, with an influence and ability to drive related industries far beyond typical county-level venues.

As the first county-level venue operated by Huajian Group on behalf of the local government, the Xiadu Sports Center's success has provided a template for the group's deeper expansion across the city. Huajian's "Sports+" model is now being rolled out, with several county-level venue management agreements already signed or in advanced stages. The concert itself, orchestrated by Huajian Group, demonstrated the company's expertise. When ticket sales lagged two days before the event, causing anxiety among investors, Ma Hongbin, deputy head of the preparatory team for Huajian Group's Yuncheng company, remained confident: "In our experience, the two days before a concert are the peak sales period. Even if we faced a loss, we had contingency plans." Tickets sold out before the show, recovering all investments and delivering solid returns. For safety, Huajian brought in a dedicated security team from its Taiyuan headquarters, ensuring flawless on-site management.

This confidence stems from a replicable, market-driven playbook—covering everything from investor screening and artist selection to venue setup, sponsorship, ticketing, and security. While holding concerts in county-level cities is challenging, profitability is the hardest part, and it's essential for sustainability. Founded in April 2020 as a state-owned enterprise approved by the Shanxi Provincial Government, Huajian Group operates across sports project development, venue management, and event planning. Before the concert, the group and its investment partners selected artists based on projected fundraising, avoiding costly missteps. Sponsorships and group sales alone generated 1 million yuan before the event, acting as a financial cornerstone.

Huajian's connection with the city dates back to 2022, when it operated the Jishan Marathon—a success from its first edition, now an annual cultural and sports fixture. In April 2024, Huajian's wholly-owned subsidiary, Huajian Sports Education Technology (Shanxi) Co., Ltd., took over operations at Xiadu Sports Center, marking a period of rapid growth. The group has since hosted events like the Sixth Yuncheng City Games opening ceremony, the 2025 Yuncheng Primary and Secondary School Track and Field Games, the 2024 National "Juyou Cup" Middle-Aged Football Invitational, and the 2026 Shanxi Football Association Super League opening. By December 2025, Huajian Sports won the bid to manage the Jishan County Sports Center under an "ownership-operations separation" model, overseeing its swimming pool, fitness hall, and stadium. With new branches in Xia County, Linyi County, and Jishan County, Huajian is building a county-wide venue network. Now, a pivotal step is underway: the establishment of Huajian Group's Yuncheng company—its first prefecture-level organization in the province, with the city chosen as the initial pilot. This signals a shift from project-specific cooperation to a comprehensive strategic presence.

Why does Huajian focus on sports venues, and why are local governments willing to cede operational control? Venues are the core infrastructure of the sports industry, essential for events, performances, and public fitness. For Huajian, venue management is the first link in its chain. Across China, many public venues suffer from a "can build, can't maintain" syndrome—high upkeep costs, low utilization, and chronic reliance on subsidies, leaving them as financial burdens. For example, the Asian Games Town Sports Center in Guangzhou remained largely dormant for four years after the 2010 Asian Games, with over 80% of income from government subsidies. In 2014, state-owned Pearl River Sports took over. Through a strategy of "business restructuring, content enrichment, and public services," it boosted commercial occupancy to 95%, hosted 39 business events in 2025, ranked among Guangzhou's top three for performances, and drove over 1.4 billion yuan in related consumer spending. This transformation from fiscal liability to urban asset proves the viability of market-based operations.

Successful cases show that local governments and state-owned enterprises can complement each other around venue management, preserving public welfare while building self-sustaining revenue through event and performance economies. Why was Yuncheng chosen as the first pilot for Huajian's regional strategy? As Shanxi's most populous city after the capital Taiyuan, it offers a vast consumer base. Every county has complete venue infrastructure, and sports participation runs deep—from Jishan basketball and Wanrong pickleball to Xia County youth football and Yongji cycling races. The city's rich cultural heritage and tourism resources provide fertile ground for "Sports+" initiatives. Policy support adds further impetus: in April, the State Council issued guidelines on expanding service industry quality, calling for "innovative models in culture, sports, and tourism," "high-quality development of the event economy," and "new, smart, customized, and experience-based sports consumption." Huajian's county-level management practices align directly with these directives.

The establishment of Huajian's Yuncheng company will deepen its local footprint. Its business already spans events, performances, and training, with plans for sports and wellness communities in some counties, plus a Yellow River Golden Triangle low-altitude economy base covering research, aviation training, and low-altitude competitions. "Following the direction of Huajian Group's leadership, our model is 'Sports+'—sports plus concerts, events, real estate, wellness, education, and dining. We're not just venue managers; we're builders and operators of a city's sports ecosystem," says Ma Hongbin. For Huajian, with its goal of building a comprehensive regional sports ecosystem, moving from provincial capital to county-level cities is just the entry point, not the destination. The ultimate ambition is to expand across Shanxi and the country with diversified business types and multi-chain operations.

What has changed in Yuncheng since Huajian's arrival? The venues are thriving. Since April 2024, the Xiadu Sports Center has leveraged Huajian's resources to host events and performances at levels exceeding typical county venues. Its state-owned status provides a natural balance between public welfare and commercial interests. "We operate with public welfare as our priority, guided by market principles, to meet residents' fitness needs. As a state-owned enterprise, our social responsibility comes first," Ma explains. Attendance numbers reflect this: entry visits to Xiadu Sports Center reached 550,000 last year and are projected to hit 900,000 this year. The venue has become a vibrant gathering place for sports enthusiasts, a real-world traffic pool, rather than a cold building.

Resources have expanded. Huajian brings provincial and national events, top artists, and performance teams to county venues. While the event and performance economies are booming, they demand specialized expertise. Local governments have venues and willingness but often lack operational experience, professional talent, and market know-how. Thus, public-private partnerships are a logical fit. These events also generate a "ticket-stub economy." At the Xia County concert, local residents made up only 15% of attendees; out-of-town visitors accounted for 85%. The event was far more than a show—it fueled tourism, dining, accommodation, transport, and local product sales. Xia County offered free entry to five major scenic spots for ticket holders from August 19 to 25, while Salt Lake District joined in with discounts at seven attractions, including Xiezhou Guandi Temple and Yuncheng Salt Lake. Pearl River Sports' experience in Guangzhou illustrates the power of this approach: by linking venues with nearby merchants, partner businesses saw average foot traffic rise 40%, with some restaurants boosting revenue by over 30%. This creates a virtuous cycle of "events attract visitors, ticket stubs drive consumption."

"This is the external economic loop driven by concerts and sports events," Ma says. "They're a major gateway for external traffic and a pillar for an outward-looking economy. People come to Yuncheng for a great show or match, and they stay." The excitement of the Xia County concert has faded, but Huajian's work continues. After years of collaboration, cooperation with local counties is increasingly smooth. "Local governments are supportive and trust us to deliver. We tailor plans to each county's specific conditions, choosing the right sports or performance formats," Ma notes. For example, while Jishan's marathon is a success, other counties don't need to replicate it identically—they can develop differentiated products. Xia County's scenic, winding roads could host cycling cross-country races, while Salt Lake's beauty suits hot air balloon competitions.

Yuncheng's selection as Huajian's first prefecture-level pilot is logical: it offers population, venues, grassroots sports culture, and tourism resources. In return, Huajian brings market mechanisms and professional expertise to activate dormant or scattered assets, along with the state-owned mission to serve national strategy, drive local development, and improve livelihoods. Through this reform, the "new venues" are gaining stronger self-sustaining capacity. What were once simple public fitness spaces are becoming incubators for emerging cultural tourism and commercial integration. Concerts and major events are no longer privileges of big cities but county-level options, and ticket stubs have evolved from entry passes to catalysts for new consumption. By leveraging culture to attract, tourism to build momentum, and commerce to add value, the city is using public sports venue reform to accelerate an integrated development model that connects culture, tourism, commerce, sports, exhibitions, and events.