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Beijing's great leap toward 2008China dominates East Asian Games with 127 goldBy Unus Alladin  The East Asian Games ended nine days of competition with a colorful closing ceremony on Sunday. RELATEDYOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- They came, they saw and they conquered like never before. China's team of athletes won medals by the bunches at the 2005 East Asian Games. The mainland won more than half of the total gold medals at stake, almost winning a medal in each of the 234 disciplines it had contested. The final numbers posted by China were dizzying; 223 medals at the 2005 East Asian Games; 127 golds, 63 silvers and 33 bronze, to easily top the medal charts for the fourth straight time at the sporting festival. To show just how dominant they were during the Games, China won more than twice the number of gold medals garnered by the second most successful team, Japan, with 46. South Korea was third in the final medal count with 32 gold medals, followed by Taiwan with 12 and host Macau, with 11. (Medal standings) The Games will be remembered for the mainland's massive show of strength in the nine-day event that featured nine countries or regions taking part. Even though the mainland didn't send some of their top athletes, the Chinese juggernaut was evident from the first day, as they dominated almost every competition, from wushu, to track and field, swimming, weightlifting and diving. The event was seen as a litmus test for China as it prepares to host the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The mainland sent to Macau many previous Olympic gold medal winners. Cui Dalin, an official for the 560-member strong Chinese delegation to Macau, said the East Asian Games provided his athletes with valuable experience before Beijing 2008. "The reason why China won by a large number of medals is because the Chinese athletes took these Games very seriously. It was a very important chance to prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games, and also we want to show our support for the Macau SAR government and the organizing committee," Cui said. "Overall I am satisfied with China's performance here," Cui added. "After these East Asian Games, we are even more confident about our performance at the 2008 Olympic Games." As expected, China's top stars stole the show. Liu Xiang, the men's 110-meter hurdles superstar, ended his season on a high note by winning gold ahead of compatriot Shi Dongpeng in a new Games record of 13.21 seconds. Chinese diver Guo Jingjing was the star attraction in the pool as she somersaulted, spun and twisted her way to gold medals in the women's 1-meter springboard and 3-meter synchronized springboard. Not everything, however, went smoothly for China. Just days before the Games began, distance runner Sun Yinjie was dropped from the Chinese athletics squad after testing positive for steroids. Sun was stripped of her silver medal in the women's 10,000 meters at the National Games in Jiangsu last month after failing a dope test. She had previously won a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters in the World Championships in 2003. China also suffered a surprising setback when they were shocked by Japan in the semifinals of the men's basketball competition. Japan managed a 68-60 victory against a more experienced Chinese team that did not have star center Yao Ming on their side. China ended the Games on a golden note, however, defeating North Korea 1-0 in the finals, proving its victory in last summer's East Asian football championship was no fluke. 
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