Feature: Village basketball adds vitality to life, development in China

GUIYANG, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- One could hardly imagine that a small village would shoot to fame just three years after being lifted out of poverty, all because of basketball.

It all happened in the tiny village of Taipan, in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

In November, basketball friendlies were held in the mountainous village in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, as a follow-up to the extremely successful Village Basketball Competition of China, known as "CunBA", once again put the village of 1,200 people in limelight.

In an effort to meet people's fitness requirements and promote rural revitalization, China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and General Administration of Sport launched "CunBA" in June, and chose Taipan as the venue for the finals.

A basketball event originally organized by the village to celebrate harvest during the Chixin Festival, has now developed into a national competition.

According to Zhou Hu, director of the Farmers Sports Guidance Center at the China Farmer Physical Culture Association, more than 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have held village basketball competitions, where fans would travel thousands of miles to participate in or watch the games.

It was the first time for Wang Bingyu from Guizhou's Zunyi City to travel to Qiandongnan, where she watched the "CunBA" finals, and sampled local delicacies and handicrafts.

"In Taipan, I was deeply moved by their enthusiasm for basketball," said Wang.

The development of rural sports has sparked a fitness craze. In Taipan, teams signing up for basketball games during this year's Chixin Festival reached 247, featuring more than 3,000 players in total.

Yang Mei and her daughter, from neighboring Yangfang Village, are familiar faces in women's basketball games organized by their village.

"More and more children in the village began to learn basketball and often asked me to be their coach. The love of basketball is passed down from generation to generation," said Yang.

"Basketball stimulates the enthusiasm of hundreds of millions of villagers for sports and fitness, and enriches their spiritual and cultural life," said Hu Yongwan, deputy secretary-general of the national farmers sports association.

"This is no longer just a basketball competition, it's also a large sporting and cultural activity integrated with local characteristics. Everyone participates in it, which impresses me a lot," said Wang Siyu, a tourist from Hunan Province.

On the back of the games, related merchandise such as dolls, keychains, rings and backpacks was produced.

In the first three quarters of this year, the number of tourists and tourism revenue of Taijiang County, where Taipan village is located, increased by 60 percent and 92 percent year-on-year respectively.

Yang Xuedong, director of Sports Economy Department of General Administration of Sport, said that in recent years, the popularity of sporting events has become a major driving force for cultural and travel consumption, adding that sports, culture and tourism have joined hands for better development.