Into the esports arena

China's booming development of esports in recent years is partly due to low entry barriers and aggressive training and competition systems for young people, according to Pan Fei, general manager of LGD Gaming, a major force in professional esports based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

"In reality, anyone who has a phone or a computer can connect with games," Pan said. But achieving excellence is quite difficult.

"Fortunately, the esports user base in China is large, which means that we can select from a relatively broad pool of talent," Pan said.

The domestic esports tournament system consists of multiple tiers of competitions — from national championships all the way to fourth-tier and professional leagues.

China has developed professional leagues, such as League of Legends and Peace Elite — for popular games like Honor of Kings.