The Tianjin Sports Museum has recently started to collect sports relics from different eras and countries.

The collection includes free-of-charge donations, free exhibitions and duplicates.

"Those collections bear witness to Tianjin's sport development. As an important part of our sporting heritage and the foundation of the museum, the relics are tied to the uniqueness and value of the Tianjin Sport Museum." Qiu Yong, the former director of the Tianjin athletic committee, said.

The museum began collecting relics and material after an initial donation of historic Chinese Olympic documents from Tianjin University on Jan 16, 2012, and now boasts more than 1,200 items.

There are many valuable objects among the donations, such as a copy of the notice of China's first basketball game (the original is kept in the library of the University of Minnesota) and shows that basketball was introduced to China via Tianjin, and the "Sport and Community" Development Contribution Award trophy, which is awarded by the International Olympic Committee and its owner, Wang Hong, is one of the only three Chinese awardees..

The collection comprises three parts - ancient sports relics (before 1840) with exhibits unearthed in the Tianjin area or garnered from local collections; modern sports relics (1840-1949), which includes pictures and objects related to the spread of western sports in Tianjin; and contemporary sports relics (1949-now) including Olympic medals won by athletes from Tianjin, sports literature and mementos.

Qiu also emphasized the role the museum plays in the city: "The establishment of the Tianjin Sports Museum offers a great way to preserve Tianjin's physical culture and show its splendid achievements in sport. The museum will benefit all of us and future generations."