In another positive step towards normality, Beijing confirmed last week that it would host its first live e-sports events since COVID-19 struck.

The announcement was made during the capital's 162nd press conference on the prevention and control of the pandemic.

The "E-sports Beijing 2020 Series Events," to be held this August, will include the Honor of Kings World Champion Cup Final, on August 16 at Beijing's Wukesong Arena. An e-sports business conference will be held on August 24 at the Bo'ao Forum for Asia International Conference Center in Hainan.

E-sports, defined as competitive, organized video gaming, was first recognized as a sport in 2003. Since then, it has exploded in China, quickly becoming the country's biggest earner in the entertainment industry. As China Daily has reported, in 2017 China's total movie box office was worth 55.9 billion yuan (around 8 billion U.S. dollars), while the country's e-sports market was valued at 77 billion yuan.

In line with this rapid development, the reputation of e-sports has been transformed. The image of bleary-eyed teenagers playing long into the night in dingy internet bars is being dispelled, replaced by students taking university degrees and training programs dedicated to e-sports. 

A 2019 list of new officially-recognized professions published by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, included e-sports operator. This represented a positive step towards changing the perception many older people have concerning e-sports, and promised youngsters who saw e-sports as a career option, cause to hope that their parents might support them.

"My background wasn't that great. My major in high school was art," one pro-gamer told CGTN. "If I'd gone on to study at university, it would have been tough on my parents."

Still, the road to success is tough. Only the elite make a name for themselves, and training can last for 12 to 14 hours a day. Aron, a head trainer with the National Gaming Team, told CGTN, "Many players think they can earn money as long as they play well. But on the way to success, they face a lot of problems. We want them to treat it as a long-term career so the industry can also grow and develop."

As e-sports in China goes from strength to strength, the hope in the gaming community is that the upcoming Honor of Kings World Champion Cup Final and related events around China this month, will raise the country's profile on the international e-sports stage.