TIANJIN, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Basketball Association announced on Monday that they had started preparation for the building of the Chinese Basketball Museum.

Basketball is one of the most popular sports in China. The museum will be located in the city of Tianjin, where the sport first came to China in late 19th century. China's first indoor basketball arena was also built in Tianjin.

"The museum will discover, collect, explore and inherit the relics of Chinese basketball culture," said the CBA in the announcement.

"It will also become a platform for traditional basketball cultural heritage and basketball international cooperation," the statement added.