1 out of 20 Courses in Beijing is Legal

According to a member of the law committee branch of China's parlament, only one golf course in twenty have been legally developed in Beijing.

Simply put, China has been hurting for land for the better half of a decade. Boasting the largest population on Earth, lawmakers in the country decided to pass a moratorium on golf course development in 2004 and again last year. Despite this decision, however, many rogue developers are still opening new courses every year illegally.

Just how many courses are in the mainland area surrounding major cities like Beijing and Shanghai? According to the China Golf Association (CGA), the number of courses on the mainland tops of at around 500, mainly clustered around the major cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The only golf course in Beijing that has been labeled as being legally developed is the Beijing International Golf Club, developed in 1986. Of the 19 that are not deemed "legal", perhaps the three most famous courses include Jack Nicklaus-designed Pine Valley, the Beijing Honghua and the CBD International. Professional golf events have even been played on these aforementioned courses, including the European Tour's China Open in recent years.