bodybuilding in china dates back to the 1930s. it was first introduced to the chinese in guangzhou, when missionary school attendee zhao zhuguang started promoting it, having attended overseas bodybuilding courses. however, its early history was marred with controversy, and the communist party of china, led by chairman mao zedong, publicly condemned the sport and officially banned it in 1953. the ban was only abolished close to three decades later; thereafter, bodybuilding contests for men started to be organised, and china became a member of the international bodybuilding federation in 1985. competitions for women were held soon afterwards. china now has a national federation governing bodybuilding in the country, the chinese bodybuilding association.