On August 2, the Guizhou Provincial "Beautiful Countryside" Basketball League Qiandongnan Prefecture semi-finals were held in Taipan Village, Taipan Township, Taijiang County. The audience came to watch the game was full and the atmosphere was warm. Photo provided by the respondent
reporters Jiang Cheng, Tian Defeng, and Zhao Zhao
have no electronic screen, no commercial advertisements, no pre-match campaign and press releases, and only a basketball court with red and green colors at the entrance of the village committee; players on the court kept running, passing balls, and layups, crowded outside the court, cheering and shouting... A rural basketball game that looks not professional and not high-end is extremely contagious.
"The atmosphere on the scene is really amazing!" At the end of July, a rural basketball game in Taipan Village, Taipan Township, Taijiang County, Guizhou attracted the attention of Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On Twitter , he posted a post and posted a video to like it.
As soon as the "June 6" New Food Festival basketball game spontaneously organized by local ethnic minorities started, it attracted people from all over the countryside to watch. Because of its warm atmosphere, it quickly became popular on the Internet and became popular in the circle. Since the venue is in the countryside, the competition is organized by villagers, the contestants are mainly villagers, and the prizes are even local agricultural products such as scalpers, fragrant pigs, , etc., netizens affectionately call it "village BA".
In order to continue the atmosphere of the event, from July 30 to August 2, the Guizhou Provincial "Beautiful Countryside" Basketball League Qiandongnan Prefecture semi-finals were held in Taipan Village, Taipan Township. Ladders, roofs, and walls were built, and the audience was crowded with people, and the cumulative number of online live broadcasts exceeded 100 million.
Why is Guizhou’s “Village BA” so popular? Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporters found that the popularity of rural basketball games is inevitable by chance, reflecting the strong demand for high-quality spiritual and cultural life in rural areas.
"The ladders in the countryside are short"
At 3 pm on August 2, the scorching sun was in the sky. Grandpa Ya, 88, sat in the open-air stands on the court with an umbrella, waiting for the upcoming basketball game. He came from Kaili City , 30 kilometers away. In order to prevent the seat from being occupied, he had to take turns with his wife when going to the toilet.
Many viewers came from Henan, Guangxi and other places just to see a down-to-earth "village BA".
Wait until the game starts, the stadium is crowded and full. On the hillside and roof outside the stadium, there are audiences who can stand their feet. "The ladders in the village are sold out," the villagers said with a smile.
Some villagers brought iron pots and iron basins from their homes to cheer for the players on the field. The basketball entered the basket, and the sound of iron tools hitting the crowd came from everywhere.
on-site commentator constantly switches between Mandarin , Guizhou dialect and Miao language . The performance of the "Basketball Baby" during the intermission was replaced by ethnic minority singing and dancing. The winners of the competition were Huangping Huangniu, Rongjiang Tower Shixiang Sheep, Congjiang Xiaoxiang Pig , Rongjiang Watermelon... The "Village BA" is full of "village" flavor from beginning to end.
Preliminary statistics from the Taipan Township Government showed that during the 4-day game, the average audience was more than 15,000. Due to site restrictions, more than 10,000 people wandered around the periphery every day due to failure to enter the scene. Many people took photos and "check in" dozens of meters away from the stadium, "just to prove that they have been here."
7 games in 24 days, and some games were held until 4 a.m. the next day. From dawn to dark, from dawn to dawn, few viewers left the seat early, which was called "dawn culture".
has hundreds of live broadcasts and related short videos for Guizhou's "Village BA" on , Douyin and other online platforms. The cumulative number of online live broadcasts exceeded 100 million. The keyword "Village BA" has entered the hot list for many consecutive days, arousing widespread attention and discussion.
Some netizens said: "I watched the game for three days and three nights. The game was wonderful, the scene was spectacular, and the audience was energetic!" Some netizens analyzed the reason for the popularity of Guizhou's "Village BA": "The game without capital is popular, it is solid and down-to-earth." "The players are all fighting for their respective hometowns, not for money, but for reputation."
Local grassroots cadres said that sports culture is indispensable in rural revitalization, which not only allows villagers to have good physical fitness and mental outlook, but also brings economic benefits to the local area.
Wang Zaigui, a villager in Taipan Village and a commentator of "Village BA" said that in the past few days of the game, dozens of stalls were specially designated around the stadium for villagers to sell snacks. The event organizer only charged a few hundred yuan in stall sanitation fees. A large number of people flocked to Taipan Village, which made local snacks and agricultural products popular. Some small stalls in the village can earn 10,000 to 20,000 yuan a day.
"It's been done for decades, but it can't be broken in our generation."
Because of basketball, many young people who are working hard outside have returned.
organizes this game with , Taipanxiang twenty or thirty young people including Wang Zaigui. Wang Zaigui, 26 years old this year, is a retired military soldier of . He is currently an auxiliary police officer of Taijiang County . In order to hold a basketball game in the village, he specially asked for a week off.
"It has been done for decades, and it won't be broken up in our generation." When Wang Zaigui said this, the game had ended, but the temporary auditorium built at the entrance of the village committee had not been removed, and dozens of children were chasing the ball on the court.
The history of Taipan Village hosting basketball games can be traced back to 1936. Since then, the villagers of Taipan Village will hold some sports events such as "bullock fighting" and "bird fighting" every year when they eat New Festival on June 6, and basketball has been passed down as an event with the widest participation and most recognized by the masses.
"I heard from the old people in the village that since 1936, the annual basketball game in Taipan Village has never been interrupted. Without basketball, the villagers tied the balls with fabric and no rebounds. The villagers used two pillars to add a wooden board and then built an iron circle." said Zhang Shoushuang, the village party secretary of Taipan Village.
As time goes by, Taipan Township's "June 6" New Food Festival basketball game has gradually spread, from the beginning of mass participation in the township, to the competition in various counties in Qiandongnan Prefecture in recent years.
Until now, before the sixth day of the lunar calendar every year, in order to hold a basketball game, every household in Taipan Village contributed funds, ranging from dozens of yuan to several thousand yuan.
"Someone once thought of giving up, but the elderly in the village did not allow it." Wang Zaigui said, "You young people are not as powerful as us back then" can completely inspire the fighting spirit of the young people in Taipan Village.
"Village BA" is the resonance of a better life
Taijiang County has the reputation of "the world's Miao No. 1 county". There are many ethnic festivals in the local area, and basketball games, as a team sport, can condense the villagers' sense of unity and stimulate positive energy. Therefore, local villagers have always regarded basketball games as a fixed event in the festival. "Whenever a basketball game starts, villagers from all over the country will flock to the crowd. In order to participate in and watch basketball games, even those who go out to work will come back." said Yang Dezhao, the county magistrate of Taijiang County.
Zhang Shoushuang introduced that there are more than 270 households in Taipan Village and more than 1,100 people, two-thirds of the villagers have the habit of playing basketball, and basketball has a good mass base in the village. Basketball events of all sizes are held during slack farming and traditional festivals. The event atmosphere is strong, and the participation of mass sports is very high.
In addition to the historical heritage of ethnic minorities and the mass base of basketball, behind the popularity of "village BA", it also reflects the strong demand for high-quality spiritual and cultural life in rural areas. Its popularity is inevitable that it is hidden in chance.
In recent years, with the further consolidation of the results of poverty alleviation and the continuous advancement of rural revitalization, the people have achieved great benefits, improved their material living standards, and have more energy and economic strength to participate in sports and cultural activities. "We are inspired by this and will further adhere to the people-centered concept. We must do what the masses like, so as to enhance the people's sense of gain and happiness, so that they can become participants rather than bystanders," said Yang Dezhao.
Chang Hai, Party Secretary and Director of the Qiandongnan Prefecture Culture, Sports, Radio, Film and Tourism Bureau, said that the rural basketball game contains people’s expectations for a better life. In the game, no matter whether they win or lose, there is encouragement from the audience and they never booze. Everyone on the field is a brave man, and they are linked online and offline, and everyone is happy together.
However, it can also be seen from the scene that rural sports still have shortcomings such as poor competition team skills, shortage of referees, and insufficient organizational capabilities.Yang Jiahua, head of the Competition Sports Section of the Qiandongnan Prefecture Culture, Sports, Radio, Film and Tourism Bureau, said that the selection and training of rural sports enthusiasts, athletes and referees can be further strengthened, and the competition can be gradually standardized and normalized.
Chang Hai suggested that we should continue to explore ethnic competitive projects, strive to expand ethnic sports competitive performances, leisure experience and other activities, carry out traditional sports such as dragon boat racing, bullfighting, single bamboo floating , martial arts, etc., and release the continuous influence of rural sports events.
■Interview notes
"Village BA" needs to be long-lasting and must make up for shortcomings
"Village BA" in Taipan Village, Guizhou is not an isolated case. In recent years, with the steady advancement of rural revitalization, this kind of rural sports activity with a strong "village" flavor from head to toe is also booming. In Pingliang, Gansu, a basketball game allowed spectators who could not find a seat to climb up to the treetops to watch the game; in Guangxi, Fujian and other places, similar sports events based on villages are also very popular; in some economically developed areas, rural sports events have also been "matched" into the county gymnasium. In addition to enriching the spiritual and cultural life of farmers, rural sports activities are also held to drive the rural leisure and tourism industry through event holding, further promoting rural revitalization.
However, although rural sports facilities are improving overall, we still need to make up for shortcomings. Chang Hai, Party Secretary and Director of the Qiandongnan Prefecture Culture, Sports, Radio, Film and Tourism Bureau, believes that the rural basketball courts in Qiandongnan Prefecture are currently open-air wind and rain courts, which can only meet basic needs. The next step is to increase supporting facilities such as lighting and awnings within your ability. Although the "Village BA" in Taipan Village was a great success, there were some safety hazards during the event, such as being too crowded, and audiences who were building ladders, standing on roofs, and climbing walls were at risk of falling, etc. It must be popular for a long time and become a carnival for villagers from far and near. Taking measures to ensure the safety of the event, adding more audience seats, and adding public bathrooms must be put on the agenda.
Source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph
