China is a large sports nation and a powerhouse in Olympic sports.
The Asian Giant bagged 38 golds, finishing second in the last Olympics. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China led the gold medal count, capturing 51 golds. At the Los Angeles, Barcelona and Atlanta Olympics, China came fourth in the gold medal tally, respectively, and at the Athens Olympics, moved up to the second spot.
中国是一个体育大国，也是奥林匹克体育强国。在上一届奥运会中，中国摘得38金，位列金牌榜第二。在2008年北京奥运会中，中国狂揽51金，以超出第二名美国15金的绝对优势傲居金牌榜榜首。在洛杉矶奥运会、巴塞罗那奥运会和亚特兰大奥运会中，中国皆位居金牌榜第四位，而在雅典奥运会中跃居第二位。
Major Sports
Although China has long been associated with the martial arts, a large number of sports activities, both Western and traditionally Chinese, are enjoying high popularity in today's China.
主流体育项目
虽然长期以来中国一直都以武术而闻名，但包括很多中国传统体育运动与西方现代运动项目在今日的中国都很受欢迎。
Basketball, soccer, tennis and table tennis are the main sports in China. In the past few years, China's boxing has achieved a series of historical breakthroughs in the Olympics.
篮球、足球、网球和乒乓球是当下在中国十分流行的四大主流体育项目。近十年来，中国拳击在奥运会中接连取得历史性突破，成为了新的备受关注的项目。
Traditional sports with distinct Chinese characteristics are also very popular, including martial arts, taijiquan and qigong.
带有中国特色的传统运动健身项目在当下的中国同样也十分流行，如武术、太极拳和气功等。
The Business Side
Prior to the 1990s, sports in China, as in some other countries, were completely government-funded.
体育的商业化
在20世纪90年代以前，与其他的一些国家相类似，中国的竞技体育是完全由国家支持的。
The situation began to change in 1994 when Chinese football became the first sport to take the road of professionalization, and, in its wake, similar reforms were carried out in basketball, volleyball and pingpong, among others.
从90年代开始，中国体育开始逐步走向市场化。1994年，足球成为了中国第一个迈向职业化道路的体育运动。随后，篮球、排球、乒乓球和拳击等运动项目也相继进行了职业化改革。
The process brought with it commercialization: sport associations became profit-making entities and a club system came into being; professional leagues formed, improving China's sports environment; and commercial management systems took shape. The professionalization of sports has encouraged the emergence of a sports management market and business-structured system.
这一改革过程带来了商业化效应：体育组织成为了盈利机构，职业俱乐部机制被引入，职业联盟应运而生，商业化的运行体制逐步形成。
Another result of the reform is that Chinese athletes are allowed to joined foreign professional leagues.
中国体育职业化改革带来的另一结果是，中国运动员能够在一定程度上自由加入国外职业俱乐部。
（作者厉振羽，系国际主流媒体体育专栏作家、中国日报网特约专栏作家）
来源：人民网
