The maximum field for the qualifying tournament is 126 players, including 93 Chinese mainland players and 33 non-Chinese mainland players. Playing in a stroke play format, the field will be cut to the top players after the first round.

In the event of a tie, any open spots will be decided by a hole-by-hole play-off immediately following the 36 holes of the qualifying tournament.

Jin Zihao, a four-time winner on the China Tour as a rookie, won last year's qualifying tournament at Hidden Grace Golf Club in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. The Beijing native was one of five Chinese mainland players to make the cut in the main tournament, also played at Hidden Grace, that was won by Adrian Otaegui of the United Arab Emirates.

The Emirati pro joined an esteemed group of past winners of the tournament, among them Paul Casey, Nicolas Colsaerts, Brandon Grace, Jeev Milkha Singh and China's Li Haotong, one of six homegrown players to have won the national championship.