The Chinese Football Association Jia League is the first-division league of Chinese football (soccer), under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association. The Chinese Football Association was founded in January 1955 and its headquaters is located in Beijing. ...

Above the Jia League is the premier league, the Chinese Super League or CSL. However, from 1994 to 2004, the top flight of professional football was Jia A league (i.e. prior to the formation of the CSL). The Chinese Football Association Super League a. ...

Unlike the CSL, the Jia League does not seem to have any standard common name or abbreviation in English, however, it seems to be called simply the "China League". It is currently made up of twelve teams, playing home and away with the top two to be promoted, replacing the two bottom teams in the CSL.

Season 2006

Season 2006 is the first year in which promotion and relegation between the two leagues is to take place. Round 1 of the 2006 season began on March 25th and is scheduled to end with Round 26 on October 28th.

The clubs competing in the China League are:-

• Beijing Hongdeng, Beijing
• Chengdu Blades, Chengdu (formerly Chengdu Wuniu)
• Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, Guangzhou (formerly Guangzhou Rizhiquan)
• Henan Jianye, Xinxiang
• Hunan Xiangjun, Changsha
• Jiangsu Shuntian, Nanjing
• Nanchang Bayi, Nanchang
• Nanjing Yoyo, Nanjing
• Qingdao Hailifeng, Qingdao
• Shanghai Stars, Shanghai (formerly Shanghai 9th City)
• Shanxi Aosen Luhu, Dalian
• Yanbian, Yanbian
• Zhejiang Lücheng, Hangzhou

The Chengdu Blades are so-called because they are owned by Sheffield United who are nicknamed the Blades. Beijing (Chinese: 北京; Pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; ; IPA: ), a city in northern China (formerly spelled in English as Peking or Peiking), is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Location within China Chengdu (Chinese: 成都; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Cheng-tu), located in southwest China, is the capital of the Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city. ... Location within China Canton, China redirects here. ... The city Xinxiang (Simplified Chinese: 新乡; Traditional Chinese: 新鄉; pinyin: Xīnxiāng) is situated in the Henan Province in eastern China. ... Mao Zedong Museum in Changsha Changsha (Simplified Chinese: é•¿æ²™; Traditional Chinese: é•·æ²™; Pinyin: Chángshā; Wade-Giles: Chang-sha) is the capital of Hunan, a province of Southcentral China, located on the lower reaches of Xiangjiang river, a branch of the Yangtze River. ... Nanjing (Chinese: 南京 [ ]; Romanizations: NánjÄ«ng (Pinyin) , Nan-ching (Wade-Giles), Nanking (Postal System Pinyin) ) is the capital of Chinas Jiangsu Province and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. ... Nanchang (Chinese: 南昌; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. ... Nanjing (Chinese: 南京 [ ]; Romanizations: NánjÄ«ng (Pinyin) , Nan-ching (Wade-Giles), Nanking (Postal System Pinyin) ) is the capital of Chinas Jiangsu Province and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. ... The Qingdao Haixin, Preverious named Guangdong Hongyuan, Qingdao Hailifeng, Hefei Chuangyi and Qingdao Aokema is a Chinese Football Association Jia League football club. ... Qingdao (Simplified Chinese: 青岛; Traditional Chinese: 青島; Pinyin: QÄ«ngdÇŽo; Wade-Giles: Ching-tao), well-known to the West by its Postal System Pinyin transliteration Tsingtao, is a sub-provincial city in eastern Shandong province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; pinyin: ; Shanghainese: ), situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta in East China, is Chinas largest city by population. ... Dalian (Simplified Chinese: 大连; Traditional Chinese: 大連; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ta-lien), or Dalny (during Russian controlled periods, aka Dairen during Japanese periods, or from Mid-century (Jointly administered by both USSR/PRC) formerly also Lüda or Luta), is the second of two strategic ice-free seaports on the Liaodong... Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture has become the traditional homeland of most Koreans in China around the end of the Manchu Dynasty (late 19th centuries. ... Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture has become the traditional homeland of most Koreans in China around the end of the Manchu Dynasty (late 19th centuries. ... Hangzhou (Chinese: 杭州; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hang-chou) is a sub-provincial city in China, and the capital of Zhejiang province. ... Sheffield United Football Club are a professional English football club based in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. ...

In Round 11, a 3-2 victory over eighth placed Yanbian keeps Guangzhou Pharmaceutical top of the table, one point ahead of Zhejiang Lücheng who beat Nanjing Yoyo 2-1. Unbeaten Henan Jianye moved into third after a 3-3 draw with seventh placed Jiangsu Shuntian, one point ahead of Qingdao Hailifeng. Chengdu Blades are fifth with Nanjing Yoyo sixth.

At the bottom of the table, two successive wins have ensured that Nanchang Bayi have joined Shanxi Aosen Luhu on seven points, to give them a five point lead over basement club, Hunan Xiangjun.

On top of their early league success, Zhejiang Lücheng produced the upset of the China FA Cup second round with a 2-0 away win at China Super League outfit Beijing Guo'an and set up a two-legged quarter-final meeting with Shenzhen Kingway. They are the last China League side in the competition.

External links

• http://www.sinosoc.com/
• http://www.sports.cn/sports/news_subject/05zhongjia/index.html (in Chinese)