The World Taekwondo Federation opens its first branch in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, on July 26, 2018. [Photo/wxrb.com]

Wuxi, a former industrial city, is investing heavily in taekwondo. It was the host and sponsor of the 2019 World Taekwondo Grand Slam, which was held on Aug 4.

Wuxi has hosted over 20 taekwondo events since November 2017, attracting about 100,000 spectators in total.

A series of changes to the competition rules have been applied first in Wuxi to ensure taekwondo is as exciting and engaging as possible for its global fan base. The changes were approved by the World Taekwondo Federation last April.

In addition, during the 2018 World Taekwondo Team World Cup Championship held in Wuxi, a points-based system for national teams was adopted for the first time. The points obtained by the national and regional teams in Wuxi will determine their qualifications for the future Olympic Games.

Sponsored by World Taekwondo (Wuxi) Center and China Taekwondo Federation, Wuxi opened classes this July to teach taekwondo coaches about the new competition rules and points-based system. The classes were attended by a total of 203 taekwondo coaches and club directors.

Wuxi is now home to about 200 taekwondo clubs and has over 50,000 people currently practicing the martial art. In 2018, Wuxi was chosen as the host of the 2021 World Taekwondo Championships and the World Para Taekwondo Championships.