Mahjong finds feet atop Sydney Harbor Bridge(2)

World Series of Mahjong 2013 aims to attract 500 players to compete from Australia and overseas. International players will mostly come from the greater China region but it is expected that up to 15 countries will be represented.

Since its inception in 2007, the three annual competitions have all taken place in Macau. The last World Series of Mahjong was held at The Venetian in Macau in 2010. Chan Tak-Kwan from Hong Kong was crowned as the champion.

As part of Sydney Bridgeclimb's promotion of its new Mandarin Climb -- which features local Mandarin speaking guides -- players were rewarded with spectacular 360 degree views of the city and one of the most beautiful harbors in the world.

Hailing from very different backgrounds, but all sharing a passion for Mahjong, the Chinese tradition is finding its feet in Australia.

Ling is a paralegal, Tony is the proprietor of Jade Express Travel and a winner of various Mahjong tournaments, Pauline is a business migration agent and organizer of Mahjong tournaments, while Jak is a postgraduate student.

Jak first learned to play Mahjong on a trip down the Yangtze River when he was eight year old. He spent many hours watching the Chinese onboard playing the game. Not speaking Chinese, he had to learn how to play by studying their actions over the three-day cruise. "The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a powerful symbol of Australia. Similarly, Mahjong is an iconic game that originated in China, so it was a rewarding as well as unusual sight to have the two brought together in such exceptional circumstances,"Heng said.

The Competition kicks off in Sydney on June 2.