Tuesday 26 July 2016 11:42, UK
As Sky Sports adds the Chinese Super League to its unrivalled live football schedule, we look at the big names soon to be on display.
Chinese football is steadily accumulating a list of household names that includes Hulk, Jackson Martinez, Ramires and Graziano Pelle.
Ahead of Chinese Super League action hitting your screens on July 30, we check out how some familiar faces have fared so far...
When Gervinho swapped Rome for Qinhuangdao in January, he left behind one of the world's cultural capitals for China's largest coal shipping port.
But the Ivory Coast international has quickly settled in China's 145th most populous city, its 1,029,670 residents making it roughly comparable to Birmingham in the UK.
"The club has done everything it can to help me integrate and not just from a footballing point of view. I'm enjoying discovering Chinese life - the people have been very welcoming and Qinhuangdao is a very beautiful city," Gervinho told FIFA's official website.
The former Arsenal winger has done his bit on the pitch too, scoring three goals and adding five assists in 14 games for Hebei China Fortune FC, who sit fourth in the CSL table.
Hebei were one of the most active clubs in the winter transfer window, adding Ezequiel Lavezzi from Paris Saint-Germain on wages reportedly worth £400,000-a-week. But the Argentine is without a goal in 10 league matches and a broken elbow suffered at Copa America will prevent him from breaking his duck anytime soon.
Another Hebei purchase, Stephane M'Bia, has fared better, and QPR fans may be surprised to learn the former Loftus Road enforcer has four goals to his name at the half-way point of the season.
Chinese clubs have spent more than £250m on players this year alone, and while deals for Gervinho, Lavezzi and M'Bia were significant, they are just the tip of a very expensive iceberg.
Prior to Hulk's big-money arrival, the most expensive import was former Liverpool and Chelsea transfer target Alex Teixeira, a £38m addition from Shakhtar Donetsk.
His side, Jiangsu Suning, are second in the table and have former Man City striker Jo and Chelsea old boy Ramires on the books, too. In fact, the Brazilian trio have combined for 42 per cent of Jiangsu's goals this season.
"I'm happy with the partnership between myself, Jo and Teixeira," Ramires said in June. "It's getting better with every game and we hope to continue this way.
"I'm having a great time, scoring goals and that makes me happy. Jiangsu is what I expected when I accepted this challenge."
For Teixeira, though, the goals have not come easily, especially when you consider he scored 22 in 15 leagues games shortly before departing Shakhtar. He may be the Jiangsu's joint-top scorer as it stands, but his current tally of five from 19 games is underwhelming when compared to his exploits in Ukraine.
Jiangsu's rivals Shanghai Shenhua are regular big spenders, too. They signed Obafemi Martins from MLS side Seattle Sounders in February, but the Nigerian has struggled to get on the pitch, with four goals from 16 appearances so far, 13 of which have come as a substitute.
It is a record that stands in stark contrast to his strike partner Demba Ba, who averaged almost a goal in game (14 goals in 18 games) for Shenhua to top the CSL scoring chart before an horrific leg break all-but ended his season.
The Chinese club appear to have found their star after false-starts with Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka; a striker if not on the way up, then not quite on the decline.
Ba, 30, came with an impressive CV that boasted 43 goals in 77 Premier League starts for Newcastle and Chelsea. The fact he was coming off a season in which he scored 27 times in 44 games for Besiktas suggested he would fit the bill, and he has proved to be one of the most successful buys, accounting for 45 per cent of his club's league goals so far.
At the other end of the spectrum sits Jackson Martinez, once one of Europe's most-wanted strikers.
The leading scorer in Portugal's top flight for three consecutive seasons, his subsequent move to Atletico Madrid flopped and in February he joined Guangzhou Evergrande.
It started brightly, with two goals in as many league games, but injury has restricted him to just five CSL matches and cost him a place in Colombia's Copa America squad.
Guangzhou, seven-points clear at the top of the table, are doing just fine without him thanks to the goals of Brazilian duo Ricardo Goulart and Alan, and Martinez's struggles have prompted speculation he could call time on his Chinese tour early, with AC Milan reportedly interested. His Guangzhou team-mate, former Tottenham midfielder Paulinho, appears more settled having played in all 19 league matches to date for the table-toppers.
Further down the Chinese football pyramid you find Nikica Jelavic, who swapped West Ham for China League One side Beijing Rehne in February. He has six goals from 15 league games with his side three points off a promotion place.
Like many young leagues, the CSL - and China League One below it - is a mixture of expensive acquisitions and local talent, which raises questions about the standard of football on offer.
"China has still got a way to go in terms of its development," Australia coach Ange Postecoglou said in May.
"The foreigners from all over the globe are absolutely top quality, so our guys are getting tested individually, which is great. But in the overall intensity and tempo, I think the A-League is probably a little bit ahead of it at the moment."
For Gervinho, though, the addition of players like Teixeira - and now Hulk - means those expecting little more than an easy pay-day in the Middle Kingdom are in for a rude awakening.
"I knew that coming to China wouldn't be a walk in the park, because the level of Chinese teams is now quite high," he added. "We played against Asian teams quite a few times during tours with Arsenal and the arrival of quite a number of foreign players has boosted the overall level even more.
"Any player who ever thought that this league was easy would quickly have to revise their opinion."
Shanghai SIPG, who have made a significant investment in the hope of boosting the quality further, will hope Hulk does better than the man he is set to replace, former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan.
The Ghana international is something of a cautionary tale, having been lured away from Al Ain by a salary that reportedly made him the world's sixth best-paid player. SIPG's return has been just seven goals in 20 games over two years, prompting the club to sign Hulk.
Hulk became the league's biggest-money signing when he agreed to join Shanghai SIPG in a £46.2m deal.
The Brazil international was mobbed on his arrival in China and he has not wasted time in setting about business, scoring on his Super League debut.
Pelle has also set about repaying a big fee, a bullet header opening his account for Shandong Lueng just two weeks after a £12m move from Southampton.
The Italy international has linked up with former Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse - who scored 14 minutes into his debut earlier this month - at Shandong, as well as former Fulham boss Felix Magath.
The window may have just closed but, with money seemingly no object, Sky Sports viewers are likely to see plenty more old faces plying their trade in a league determined to catch up with Europe's elite.
