The Mariners are in China for eight days of intensive conditioning before returning home to face the Pohang Steelers at Central Coast Stadium in their Group H campaign which will take the yellow and navy to ports in China, Japan and the Korea Republic.
 
While in China over the next week, the Mariners will take on two clubs reigning Chinese Super League champions and fellow AFC Champions League qualifiers Shandong Luneng and, tomorrow's opponents, Jiangsu Sainty.
 
Jiangsu Sainty represent the vast Jiangsu Province - home to a staggering 75,000,000 people and to a football team that has only recently made its mark on the Chinese football landscape.
 
No current Chinese national team players play with Jiangsu Sainty, though Brazilian strike pairing Magno Ferreira and Marcio Baros accounted for an impressive 28 of Jiangsu's 56 goals that earned the club promotion from China's second-tier Jia League last season.
 
Jiangsu ordinarily play their home matches out of Nanjing, the capital of the Jiangsu Province, but will host tomorrow's fixture at Kunshan, a smaller city east of Jiangsu and 90 minutes away from China's most populous city, Shanghai.

"We've settled in pretty well," said Wilkinson today. "We had a session this morning and another one this afternoon just to get all the stuff out of our legs.

"It was a bit of a long trip. Obviously, coming down from the Coast to Sydney, then the long flight and another bus ride.

"We're looking forward to the game and getting a good hit out against Chinese opposition in preparation for our first (Asian Champions League) game.

"It's interesting, the hotel is build into one side of the stadium, like nothing I've ever seen before.

"(This trip is) very beneficial, it gives the boys an idea of what to expect  in terms of conditions and also opponents.

"We've got two games over here which is going to be great to see what type of football  the Chinese play and not only the Chinese but the Asian teams. They probably play a completely different style of football than what we're used to in Australia.

"All in all I think it's a great trip for us. It gives us an idea of the hotels, the food, the climate and also the playing stanfards, so it's great."

New signings Shane Huke, Adam Kwasnik and Nick Rizzo have all made the trip to China and are available for selection, while  Ahmad Elrich is set for a long-awaited cameo off the bench after proving his fitness in recent weeks.

Coach Lawrie McKinna said: "It's a big change from playing two days ago in 34 degree heat to playing at 2 degrees.
 
"By playing against two Chinese Super League teams, we'll be shown roughly what we'll be up against when we play Tianjin Teda in the AFC Champions League, so we couldn't ask for any better preparation.
 
"Obviously the Pohang Steelers game is up first and it's important to get off to a good start at home, but this is a great preparation in terms of knowing what we'll be up against when we come to China again."