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SCMP Reporter

The first athletes from Team China arrived in Brazil for the Olympics, but far from Rio de Janeiro, where the Games are being held.
Members of the table tennis, swimming and football teams will be based in Sao Paulo, some 430 kilometres from Rio, for training at the prestigious Esporte Clube Pinheiros, reported Xinhua.
Seventeen teams will be using the club to train and acclimatise before heading northeast to Rio for competition, with Xinhua expecting around 400 people to be based in Sao Paulo, including athletes, coaches and officials.
The elite club, located in an exclusive neighbourhood is one of the oldest in the country, having been founded in 1899 and covers an area of about 10 football pitches.

Team China have rented the facilities until August 15, with the some 38,000 members having been posted notice of times when they will not be allowed entry.
According to Xinhua, China has also booked most of the rooms at a nearby hotel.
China is sending 416 athletes to Brazil, their largest ever delegation.
Rivals the United States will be sending 555, they confirmed, including a record 292 women.
The Americans beat China into second in the medal table at London 2012 (104-88 overall, 46-38 gold).




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Rio 2016 Olympic Games

How far? Chinese athletes arrive at Sao Paulo training base ahead of Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games

An event to unveil the official Team China 2016 Rio Olympics team uniforms at the Water Cube in Beijing. Photo: AP

(160718) -- BEIJING, July 18, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Members of Chinese delegation for Rio Olympic Games attend an official ceremony in Beijing, capital of China, July 18, 2016. The Chinese delegation was unveiled here on Monday as 160 men and 256 women athletes will compete in 210 events over 26 sports at the Games opening on Aug. 5 in Rio de Janeiro. (Xinhua/Cao Can)

Fashion designer Masha Ma on challenge of designing Team China Olympic outfits

Olympic champion diver Guo Jingjing (third from left), boxer Zhou Shiming (second from left), table tennis champion Wang Hao (left), tae kwon do star Wu Jingyu (fourth from right), weightlifter Lu Xiaojun (third from right), and gymnasts He Wenna (second from right) and Zhang Chenglong pose in the outfits Chinese athletes will wear to medal ceremonies at the Rio Olympics.

This handout image shows Marsha Ma, designer of the Champion Dragon Outfits, to be worn at this year's summer Olypmics in Rio, at the Beijing National Water Cube on June 29, 2016. [01JULY2016 online]

(From L) China's gymnasts China's Feng Zhe, Guo Weiyang, Chen Yibing, Zhang Chenglong and Zou Kai pose with their gold medals on the podium during the medal ceremony of the men's team of the artistic gymnastics event at the London Olympic Games on July 30, 2012 at the 02 North Greenwich Arena in London. Japan took the silver medal in the men's artistic gymnastics team final on Monday after a judges' inquiry that dropped hosts Great Britain from second to third and denied Ukraine a medal. AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX

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Members of Chinese delegation for Olympic Games attend an official ceremony in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua

FILE - In this Wednesday, June 29, 2016 file photo, models pose in Chinese team uniforms for different sports during an event to unveil the official Team China 2016 Rio Olympics team uniforms at the Water Cube in Beijing. China is sending 416 athletes in total to the Rio de Janeiro Games, including 35 former Olympic champions. China's team includes 160 men and 256 women, who will compete in 210 events across 26 sports. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

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Ning Zetao of China poses with his gold medal after winning the men's 100m freestyle final at the Aquatics World Championships in Kazan, Russia in August 2015. Photo: Reuters

epa03343227 China's Kai Zou celebrates winning gold with the national flag in the Men's Floor Exercise Final during the London 2012 Olympic Games Artistic Gymnastics competition, London, Britain, 05 August 2012. EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT

China's Ning Zetao celebrates after winning the final of the men's 100m freestyle swimming event at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan on August 6, 2015. AFP PHOTO / MARTIN BUREAU

Members of the table tennis, swimming and football teams will be based at the prestigious Esporte Clube Pinheiro, which is some 430 kilometres the main venue for next month’s event
