Team Taizhou celebrates its victory at the 2025 Jiangsu Football City League final. [Photo/IC]
Zhou Gaoping, a former national team player who came out of a Jiangyan school, led Team Taizhou all the way to the top, defying expectations to win the championship in the finale of the Jiangsu Football City League, or Suchao, in November 2025.
Just five seconds after the win, Jiangyan district announced that it would be offering free entry to its major tourist sites for all visitors, sparking excitement. Tourist arrivals tripled and tourism revenue increased by 2.5-fold compared to the previous year.
In addition to boosting tourism, football has also accelerated industrial growth.
Taizhou City Globewaves Sports Co, located in an industrial park in Jiangyan, has already become a main supplier of major European clubs, including Juventus Football Club, FC Barcelona, and AC Milan. Thanks to the growing popularity of Suchao, its production capacity in the first quarter of 2026 rose by 30 percent year-on-year.
The spillover effect has also reached agricultural e-commerce. A live-streaming event selling "champion crabs" received over 230,000 viewers in two hours, generating 180,000 yuan (about $26,468) in sales revenue.
Jiangyan has also been building a unique system combining its Qinhu Lake-based water culture with football.
Combining football with its ecological and cultural assets, Qinhu Lake scenic area has set up an exhibition on Chinese women's football history, rolled out a "water football" experience, and added over 10 interactive spots inspired by Suchao.