Pada akhir abad ke-19, dengan masuknya agama Kristen, tenis meja juga pertama kali menginjakkan kaki di Guangzhou dengan bantuan gereja. Saat itu, sekolah gereja seperti True Light dan Peiying adalah yang pertama kali memperkenalkan olahraga ini dan memasukkannya ke dalam kegiatan ekstrakurikuler olahraga. Pada tahun kelima Republik Tiongkok (1916), ruang tenis meja khusus didirikan di gimnasium YMCA Guangzhou yang baru dibangun. Tidak hanya diperuntukkan bagi mahasiswa untuk berlatih, namun juga terbuka bagi generasi muda di masyarakat untuk mengadakan kegiatan latihan dan kompetisi. Pengaruhnya perlahan-lahan menyebar, dan beberapa sekolah serta kelompok sosial pun mengikuti jejaknya. Tenis meja berakar dan berkembang di Guangzhou, secara bertahap membentuk tren gerakan sosial yang luas ② .

Pada tahun 1952, Tiongkok Baru, yang sangat membutuhkan revitalisasi, mendirikan Komisi Olahraga Nasional, dengan pendiri marshal He Long sebagai direktur pertama. Pada tahun yang sama, Tim Tenis Meja Nasional Tiongkok didirikan, dan Ketua Mao Zedong menuliskan 12 karakter "Kembangkan Olahraga dan Tingkatkan Fisik Masyarakat" untuk usaha olahraga di Tiongkok Baru. Hasilnya, gerakan kebangkitan olahraga nasional dimulai di Tiongkok.

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①Isi artikel ini disusun berdasarkan "Guangzhou Municipal Chronicle" Volume 5, halaman 306, "Sejarah Perkembangan Pabrik Peralatan Olahraga Oriental" dan materi lisan yang ditulis oleh pensiunan insinyur Zhang Xiting.

②Disusun berdasarkan Volume 15, Halaman 84 dari "Guangzhou Municipal Chronicle". Ini juga merupakan catatan resmi paling awal masuknya tenis meja ke Tiongkok.

Pada awal Dinasti Qing, lebih dari sepuluh bisnis wiraswasta yang beroperasi dan memproduksi perlengkapan olahraga telah bermunculan di kawasan Jalan Wenming dan Jalan Wende di Distrik Yuexiu, Guangzhou. Usaha wiraswasta ini memiliki skala produksi kecil dan sebagian besar memproduksi ring basket, kayu paralel, dan peralatan olahraga kayu lainnya. Pada tahun 1954, industri peralatan olahraga Guangzhou memasuki era koperasi. Rumah tangga kerajinan individu membentuk tiga koperasi produksi alat olah raga dengan jumlah anggota 109 orang. Setelah penyesuaian, hanya Yongjian Sports Equipment Co., Ltd. ③ (asal Perusahaan Doublefish, selanjutnya disebut "Yongjian") di Jalan Wenming No. 185 yang tersisa. Dengan 43 anggotanya, perusahaan ini memiliki tempat produksi kecil dan peralatan terbelakang. Selanjutnya, dengan berpegang pada semangat dan cita-cita "perjuangan berkelanjutan, memperkuat masyarakat dan meremajakan negara", kami memproduksi peralatan olahraga yang digunakan untuk pengajaran dan pelatihan di sekolah ④ .

In 1958, Yongjian conformed to the changes of the times and was restructured into an enterprise owned by the whole people and renamed Yongjian Sports Equipment Factory. However, the system of ownership by the whole people did not fully meet the development needs of Yongjian. After four years of practice and exploration, Yongjian decided to return to collective ownership in 1962 and restored its original name to Yongjian Sports Equipment Co., Ltd.

In 1966, in order to change the dilemma of scattered production sites and backward conditions, and to better support the development of Guangzhou Institute of Physical Education, Yongjian decided to move its production base to the vicinity of Guangzhou Institute of Physical Education in Tianhe District⑤.

In 1968, Yongjian actively responded to the government's call and moved to the industrial cluster area of Guangzhou at that time - Paolou Gang (today's Yanzigang) on Industrial Avenue in Haizhu District. It expanded the factory and started large-scale industrial production, and changed its name to Guangzhou Sports Equipment Co., Ltd. .

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③In the 1950s and 1960s, some collectively owned enterprises in China were often named after the word "社", which was common in rural areas and some small industrial organizations.

④According to the "Guangzhou City Chronicle", Yongjian mainly produced table tennis tables, goats, parallel bars, ball stands, jumping boxes and jumping mats for school use at that time. It also produced military training equipment and furniture, with a total industrial output value of 100,000 yuan. In 1957, the production scale gradually expanded and the number of varieties increased to 50.

⑤According to retired engineer Zhang Xiting's recollection, after Yongjian moved to the vicinity of Guangzhou Institute of Physical Education, it will be easier for the school to repair sports equipment, and it will also be easier for students of the Institute to use various types of sports equipment. This is the earliest record of "fusion of physical education and physical education" in the history of Doublefish.

In December of this year, the Guangzhou Sports Equipment Club merged with the Guangzhou Cricket Club, the Hongmian Badminton Racket Club and the Construction Engineering Picture Club⑥ to establish the Oriental Sports Goods Cooperation Factory, marking the gathering and coordinated development of Guangzhou's new sports industry forces.

Oriental Sports Goods Cooperation Factory Business License

Guangzhou Sports Equipment Co., Ltd., which was incorporated into the cooperative factory in 1970, was renamed Oriental Sports Equipment Factory. In April 1975, the Oriental Sports Goods Cooperative Factory underwent a major organizational structure adjustment and was split into three independently operated entities: Guangzhou Oriental Sports Equipment Factory, Guangzhou Table Tennis Board Factory, and Guangzhou Badminton Racquet Factory.

The vase-shaped table tennis table with wooden legs produced by Dongfang Sports Equipment Factory was a standard product of many schools’ physical education equipment from the 1960s to the 1980s

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⑥The main business of Construction Engineering Drawing Agency is the drawing and copying of professional drawings.

Business license of Guangzhou Dongfang Sports Equipment Factory after independent operation

After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 1978, China's national sports industry ushered in a new era of revival and development. Guangzhou Dongfang Sports Equipment Factory (hereinafter referred to as "Dongfang Factory") quickly seized the opportunity of reform and opening up, optimized the management system, reshaped the organizational structure, strengthened product technology and quality management, standardized material supply and production processes, and strictly controlled process safety. Comprehensively carry out enterprise reform.

Since 1987, with the support of relevant national, provincial and municipal departments, Dongfang Factory has invested 1.05 million yuan⑦ in technological transformation, purchased advanced mechanical equipment and testing instruments, set up automatic production lines for wood drying rooms and table spraying, and renovated workshops. Significantly improved production scale and capabilities. These measures have greatly improved product quality and market competitiveness, making Dongfang Factory a designated factory for the production of sports equipment by the Ministry of Light Industry and the National Sports Commission, and rated as a "provincial advanced enterprise", specializing in the production of various competitions, training, fitness and group products. There are more than 80 kinds of sports equipment used in the activities, registered with "Doublefish Brand", "Evergreen Brand" and "Eagle Brand", which has injected new vitality into the development of China's sports industry.

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⑦Retired engineer Zhang Xiting recalled that at that time, the government provided an interest-free loan of 1.05 million yuan to support the development of Dongfang Factory to increase production capacity. The Dongfang Factory's annual sales revenue in 1987 was 2.6407 million yuan, so the investment was a huge one.

The site of Oriental Sports Equipment Factory in the 1990s

Table tennis equipment product catalog

Ball equipment catalog

In 1987, as the Sixth National Games was about to be held in Guangdong Province, Dongfang Factory faced unprecedented technical challenges. With the strong support of superior departments, Dongfang Factory bravely took on the important task of developing and producing some key sports equipment for this sports event. This move greatly promoted the factory's technological innovation and productivity improvement. After nearly a year of unremitting efforts, Dongfang Factory successfully delivered 27 types of sports equipment for a total of 871 events, successfully completing the important tasks of the National Sports Commission and relevant provincial and municipal departments. The equipment provided includes folding table tennis tables, aluminum water polo goals and handball goals, etc., all of which have reached the advanced international standards of the 1980s.

The table tennis table, as the main product of the factory, has evolved from the original wooden leg design to iron legs through continuous technological iteration, and finally developed into an integrated folding third-generation product. Since the successful trial production of the "Doublefish PT2 Folding Table", it has won wide acclaim in various large-scale competitions at home and abroad.

In 1987, the Sixth National Games was held in Guangdong. Doublefish table tennis equipment made its debut in the top domestic competitions for the first time, providing a full set of competition equipment including table tennis and tables for the event.

The Doublefish folding steel structure used in the 6th National Games to lower the table tennis table

At the end of 1988, the "Doublefish PT2" folding table was officially approved by the ITTF as a table for international competitions, realizing the long-cherished wish of generations of Dongfang Factory since its establishment. This not only won Dongfang Factory an international reputation, but also marked that the Doublefish table will officially enter the highest stage of international competitive sports.

On November 4, 1989, the National Sports Equipment and Sports Clothing Conference and the "Sports Contribution Award" award ceremony were jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Light Industry, the Ministry of Textile Industry and the National Sports Commission. At this important meeting, Dongfang Factory won the "Sports Contribution Award" for its outstanding contribution to sports. This is not only an affirmation of Dongfang Factory’s long-term efforts and outstanding achievements, but also a significant recognition of its outstanding influence in the sports equipment industry.

Sports Contribution Award Medal

He Zhenliang, Wakil Direktur Komisi Olahraga Nasional dan Wakil Ketua Komite Olimpiade Internasional, menganugerahkan medali Penghargaan Kontribusi Olahraga kepada perwakilan Pabrik Dongfang

Pada tahun 1990, gawang polo air paduan aluminium, gawang bola tangan, dan papan skor portabel yang diproduksi oleh Pabrik Dongfang ditetapkan sebagai perlengkapan kompetisi resmi Asian Games ke-11. Ini menandai pertama kalinya peralatan olahraga Pabrik Timur menunjukkan performa luar biasa di kompetisi internasional.

Dari tahun 1991 hingga 1995, di tengah gelombang reformasi ekonomi, Pabrik Dongfang secara aktif mempromosikan inovasi dan peningkatan produk untuk meningkatkan daya saing perusahaan dan memperluas pangsa pasar. Setelah bertahun-tahun melakukan upaya tak henti-hentinya, Pabrik Dongfang telah mencapai peningkatan revolusioner dalam produk meja tenis meja: pabrik ini telah menghilangkan meja kaki kayu papan inti glulam dengan siklus produksi yang panjang dan proses yang rumit ⑧ , dan secara komprehensif meluncurkan meja tenis meja dengan bagian atas meja MDF dan tripod yang semuanya terbuat dari logam. Kombinasi beberapa meja tenis meja. Inovasi teknologi ini telah meningkatkan efisiensi produksi produk secara signifikan dan membuat kemajuan terobosan dalam kualitas dan keluaran tenis meja. Oleh karena itu, produksi meja tenis meja telah memasuki era baru.

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⑧Menurut "Guangzhou City Chronicle", Pabrik Dongfang meluncurkan meja tenis meja terpaku generasi kedua pada tahun 1973, menggantikan meja tipe ubin asli.

Pada tahun 1995, Kejuaraan Tenis Meja Dunia ke-43 diadakan di Tianjin. "Doublefish Table" yang dikembangkan dan diproduksi secara mandiri oleh Pabrik Dongfang menjadi perlengkapan resmi kompetisi internasional papan atas untuk pertama kalinya, menyaksikan momen bersejarah ketika tim tenis meja Tiongkok kembali ke puncaknya.