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What echoes in your memory when it comes to table tennis? A sport born in Britain has been deeply embedded in the spiritual core of Shanghai.
Is it the crisp "ping" of the ball hitting street court tables or the deafening cheers of thousands of spectators packing stadiums? Among those cheers, how many legendary players can you still recall?
Right now, the "2026 Shanghai Table Tennis Carnival" has kicked off. At the opening ceremony more than a dozen world champions gathered together. Xu Yinsheng, Li Furong, Zhang Xielin, Cao Yanhua, Xu Xin, and others. Known by citizens as the "Hu Chao" this event runs through spring to summer and covers the whole city.
Why did Shanghai take the lead in launching this table tennis carnival?
Although table tennis originated in Britain, China's table tennis story began in Shanghai in the 1910s and 1920s. It is said that a Shanghai stationery merchant saw people hitting a ball back and forth across a table overseas, making a "ping-pong" sound. Amused he brought the game to Shanghai from where it spread across China.
Today Shanghai boasts "18 table tennis world champions" who have collectively won 69 Olympic, World Table Tennis Championships and World Cup titles. Shanghai once took "the first baton" that propelled Chinese table tennis onto the world stage.
This year also marks the 55th anniversary of the landmark Sino-US Ping-Pong Diplomacy. Fifty-five years ago "a small ball moved the big globe". Fifty-five years later veterans of the historic Ping-Pong Diplomacy reunited in Shanghai, a day after the carnival's opening, Xu Yinsheng, Yan Sen joined American guests to rally the paddle and kick off a commemorative match as past and present converge in this dynamic city.
Beyond the competitions themselves, the event also features cultural and sports markets, consumption promotions and themed pop-up exhibitions.
It is truly a citywide carnival built around table tennis.
The next chapter of China's table tennis legacy is set to continue its journey from Shanghai.
你记忆里，上海的乒乓声音是怎样的？
是弄堂水泥台子上的“乓乓响”，还是万体馆里的万人齐呼。那些欢呼声里，你还记得多少个名字？
眼下，2026上海乒乓球嘉年华开幕了。开幕式上，徐寅生、李富荣、张燮林、曹燕华、许昕……十几位世界冠军齐聚。这场被市民称为“沪超”的全民赛事，贯穿春夏，覆盖全城。
为什么这是上海发起的狂欢？
虽说乒乓球起源于英国，但中国的乒乓故事，始于上世纪一二十年代的上海。据说当时上海有个经营文具的商人在海外看到有人在桌子两边打球，发出“乒乓”的声音，觉得有趣，于是带到上海。此后传遍全国。到现在，上海拥有“18位乒乓球世界冠军”，他们共获得69次奥运会、世乒赛、世界杯冠军。
从徐寅生“十二大板”，到张燮林“海底捞月”，从曹燕华、王励勤到许昕，再到樊振东——四代冠军薪火相传。上海，曾擎起中国乒乓走向世界的“第一棒”。
今年恰逢中美“乒乓外交”55周年。55年前“小球转动大球”；55年后，就在嘉年华开幕第二天，“乒乓外交”亲历者再聚上海，徐寅生、阎森与美方嘉宾共同挥拍开球。历史在此交汇。
不仅如此，此次赛事之外，还有文体市集、消费联动、主题临展。可以说是乒乓搭台，全城狂欢。
一场赛事，不只是对决。它是弄堂里的回声，是万体馆的记忆，是“小球转动大球”的佳话，更是无数孩子拿起球拍的起点。
中国乒乓的“下一棒”，将继续从这里出发。
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Reported by Su Nan, Wang Shujun, Li Xiaokang
Edited by Chen Yiting
Reviewed by Wang Tingting, Xue Weikan
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