Despite the Chinese government "barring the building of new courses, property
companies have turned to developing 'sports parks' to lure rich buyers," according to Daniel Ren of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. According to the Economic Information Daily, a subsidiary of
Xinhua, "the number of golf courses across the nation hit 521 at the end
of last year, a rise of 47" from '12. It nearly tripled from 178 in '04, when the central government "banned golf courses." Beijing Academy of
Social Sciences researcher Jin Shan said, "The rise of golf courses has prompted the Beijing municipal
government to intensify the crackdown, forcing a dozen local courses to
close down." The Beijing city government issued a "circular in September reiterating
that all relevant departments need to crack the whip on golf courses as
they are illegal." Shanghai Deovolente Realty Research Dir Lu Qilin said
that developers and local governments were "still keen on developing golf
courses because they added value to the real estate projects nearby." Lu: "Developers use the term 'sports parks' to build golf courses to
attract rich buyers. In many cases, golf facilitates their
property sales." A senior exec at a Shanghai developer who spoke on condition of
anonymity said that "for many cash-rich homebuyers eager to flaunt their
status, a golf course was a must-have." Jin predicted the government will "probably ease the ban when the
number of golf players reaches about 20 million." Jin: "That will be a long
wait, unless China discovers a superstar golfer in the meantime" (SCMP, 12/1).
