ABSTRACT
The introduction of Western sport to Chinese society in the late Qing Dynasty has been integral to the process of Chinese nation building. The YMCA in China played a vital role in the development of the National Games in China. Chinese nationalists seized the opportunity to host the Third National Games in 1924, whilst efforts were being made by local sports organizations in the provinces to establish China's first national sports organization: the China National Amateur Athletic Federation (CNAAF). The hosting of mega-sports events has many positive effects on the hosting nations, or regions, across many aspects of society, including the economic, social, political and cultural dimensions and, particularly, on the project of obtaining political and cultural unity in the process of nation-building. The Western notion of nationalism was introduced to China more than a hundred years ago, and it has influenced China in various ways in the context of different political regimes.
