As usual in China, on the day before things start in earnest, players are made very welcome with an opening ceremony and a launch dinner. They meet the press as well. Meanwhile the fitters make sure everything is ready at the venue.

Here are some images shared by Worldsnooker and fans on twitter and weibo.

A sand artist was performing his work at the openig ceremony, and he really impressed David Grace who is an artist himself (David draws and paints really well)

Worlsnooker also shared a short video, touring around the venue