Four Chinese middle school students represented China during the third International Geography Olympiad (IGEO) held in 2000 in Korea and that was the first time for China to participate in the IGEO. In 2005 the China Society of Geography and the Beijing Normal University decided to co-organise the China National Geography Competition (CNGC) for middle school students and to prepare for the 2006 IGEO in Australia. The first National Geography Competition for Middle School Students in China was held in Guangzhou from 20 to 22 January 2006. Twenty teams (80 middle school students under 18 years old and 25 geography teachers) from 20 middle schools nationwide participated in the competition. The competition absorbed the experience of the International Geography Olympiad and the national competitions of other subjects such as biology, mathematics, physics and was a great success.