Mahjong to be an Olympic game? Still early

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Some on the Internet are saying Mahjong will become an Olympic game at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games held in China. But the truth is — not yet.

Beijing is working on turning mind-based sports such as Mahjong into performance games at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

But it’s still a long way to go before Mahjong will become a competition at the grand event.

So. what is Mahjong? Have you ever played it?

Here's what you may want to know about the popular game.

1. How to play

Mahjong originated in the Qing dynasty, and is commonly played with four people and a square table.

There are 136 tiles with three different suits, like circles, bamboo, and characters, and in each suit the tiles are numbered from 1 to 9. Besides that, there are also 16 Wind tiles and 12 Dragon tiles. That's all for a set, for basic games.

A set of mahjong includes at least 136 tiles /CGTN Photo

Roll the dice to determine the dealer, and the game begins.

Each player gets 13 tiles, and the dealer gets 14 to discard one. To win, you need to gather four sets of three and a pair. Each set of three can be either a triplet or three tiles of consecutive numbers in the same pattern.

A player getting one pair and four sets will win /CGTN Photo

In China, player will cry out “Hu le!” when he wins, and shows all his 14 tiles to the others.

2. Mahjong: stay sharp and socialize

People gather in Mahjong rooms to play together/CGTN Photo

Mahjong remains a great way for senior citizens to socialize and stay active.

Zheng Benheng used to be a chemistry teacher at South China Normal University, and learnt to play the game soon after retirement some 20 years ago.

Zheng Benheng, a retired college teacher who now is a member of the school’s Mahjong association/ CGTN Photo

“Three hours a day, seven days a week. Playing mahjong is a regular part of my daily schedule” Zheng told CGTN, “it is a very good activity for senior citizens like me. It'll keep my hands moving and my mind thinking, to prevent me from getting Alzheimer's disease, as playing the game requires calculation.”

3. Mahjong = gambling? NO!

In China, Mahjong sometimes is associated with gambling, which is illegal. But Zheng and his fellows hope the stereotype can be changed.

“Some use Mahjong to gamble, that’s true, but that’s not what we do,” said Xu Yaoyun, a mahjong lover to CGTN, “Actually, we are playing it as a sport and we follow strictly to competition rules issued by the national sports authorities.

Zheng and his fellows have won several awards in local and national competitions /CGTN Photo

I’ve been to Australia, where Mahjong games are held regularly in communities. I hope our country can learn from that too, and to standardize the game," said Xu.

4. Mahjong: a mind-based sport

Apart from China, Mahjong has its lovers across Asia, America, Oceania and Europe, many countries have their own leagues for the game.

Mahjong is an invention from ancient China/ CGTN Photo

The First World Mahjong Sports Games were held in China’s southern city of Sanya in 2015.

In April 2017, Mahjong was officially recognized by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) as one of the six mind sports in the world, alongside bridge, chess, go, Chinese chess and draughts.