The event at the Qingdao Guoxin Stadium marks the final time the IJF World Tour competition will be held in the Chinese city, as it is moving to Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia in North China.

Three women’s categories and two men’s categories were contested on the opening day.

The first Chinese success was in the women's under-48 kilogram division, where Li won her first Grand Prix gold medal.

Tashkent Grand Prix winner Mariia Persidskaia of Russia was the favourite in the gold medal contest, but a shido from Li proved to be the only score during the four minute final as China celebrated a golden start.

China's dominance in this category was confirmed when Xiaoxian Guan and Yin Lingling both secured the bronze medals.

World number 115 Chen then added a second Chinese gold after she overcame Russian Galiya Sagitova in the under-52kg final.

Chen, who finished fifth in Qingdao in 2012, won the scoreless final on shido penalties as Sagitova was punished once for not attacking and then again for passivity while the former was only penalised once.

The bronze medals in this category were won by Chen Chin-Ying of Chinese Taipei and China's Wei Chen, who emphatically dismissed 17-year-old Junior Asian Cup medallist Annie Lau of Hong Kong after just 14 seconds with an ippon.    

In the third women's competition today, Russia's Anastasiia Konkina won back-to-back Grand Prix titles for the first time in her career as she thwarted Lin Yuanyuan of China in the women's under-57kg final.

The 22-year-old Russian took command of the final with a waza-ari before utilising the same technique to hit a second match-winning score.

She has added to the gold she won at the IJF Tashkent Grand Prix in Uzbekistan last month.

The first bronze medal was won by beaten semi-finalist Xuemei Feng of China, who saw off her compatriot Li Xiandong, while the second was won by Asian Championships bronze medallist Anzu Yamamoto of Japan who overcame Hsin-Yun Lee of Chinese Taipei.

Focus then switched to the men's competitions where Mongolian Amartuvshin Dashdavaa overcame Russia's Islam Yashuev in the final of the under-60kg tournament.

Dashdavaa led the final with a waza-ari before going on to claim the crown with a tate-shiho-gatame hold, which lasted 15 seconds.

The first bronze medal was won by Russian Sayan Khertek who was a convincing winner against Tang Xiaolong of China, while teenager Yung Wei Yang of Chinese Taipei won the other after he defeated China's Su Rilege to the disappointment of the home crowd.

The fifth and final gold medal awarded today was won by former Miami Grand Prix winner Abdula Abdulzhalilov of Russia, after he topped an IJF Grand Prix medal podium for the first time since 2013.

Abdulzhalilov saw off his teammate Anzaur Ardanov to win the under-66kg gold.

The champion claimed three wins by ippon from his four contests today, which included the final as Ardanov tried but failed to free himself from a hold by Abdulzhalilov which started inside the area before moving outside.

The first bronze medal was won by IJF World Judo Tour newcomer Kenzo Tagawa of Japan, after he shocked world number 16 Andraz Jereb of Slovenia.

The second bronze medal went to Mongolia's Altansukh Dovdon, after he saw off Qing Daga of China after scoring a yuko.

Day two will see four weight categories in action at the Diamond Hall tomorrow, as the men’s under-73kg and under-81kg categories will compete alongside the women’s under-63kg and under-70kg divisions.