Tourists participate in a 3x3 basketball match before the China's Village Basketball Competition begins in Taipan Village in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Tao Liang)
Four generations of basketball-loving villagers in southwest China's Guizhou Province have witnessed how their basketball tournament has grown in size and quality in the past decades.
GUIYANG, China, June 20 (Xinhua) -- 81-year-old villager Lu Dajiang arrived at the basketball court in the early afternoon to watch a game scheduled that evening.
This Tuesday saw the start of China's Village Basketball Competition, or "CunBA", in Lu's hometown of Taipan Village in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province.
"My physical condition is suitable for playing basketball, and I'd like to play one more game if I have the chance," Lu said.
Last year, a basketball tournament in this quaint mountain village captured attention on social media platforms, both domestically and internationally. The locals' love and passion for basketball resonated with fans worldwide.
Lu represents the second generation of basketball players in Taipan Village, and he has been playing since he was seven. Even now, he can still shoot at the basket on the court.
"The basketball court has expanded, and now includes a rubber ground and a glass-made backboard. There are more seats for spectators," said Lu, adding that these changes were beyond his expectations.
A woman from China's ethnic minority participates in a shooting competition before the China's Village Basketball Competition begins. (Xinhua/Tao Liang)
Previously, the village lacked courts and even basketballs. Records show that in 1936, students from the county who studied elsewhere returned home and built an irregular basketball court during their holiday vacation. This was the first basketball court in Taijiang.
The generation of Lu's father, representing the village's first batch of basketball players, had only a makeshift basketball hoop. They used wooden trunks to support the backboard and sprinkled lime on the mud to mark boundaries. The basketballs they used were woven from cotton and twine.
"When I was young, I played basketball in the mud with my parents. After the match, the lines were trampled, and the basketball was torn apart," Lu recollected.
During the traditional Chixin Festival, which falls on the sixth day of the sixth month of China's lunar calendar, Taipan would host a basketball tournament and invite villagers from nearby townships to celebrate their abundant harvest.
In the absence of a silk banner for the champion, villagers would cut out the flag shape from discarded sheets and wrote the winning team's name with a brush. In place of jerseys, they used chalk to write players' names directly on their clothes. In lieu of prizes, the entire village contributed a few kilograms of rice as the award.
Taijiang County's women's basketball team pose for a photo in the 1970s. (Xinhua)
With people's living conditions improving, muddy basketball courts gradually faded away. By 1949, Taijiang County had constructed eight basketball courts, one of which was in Taipan. During the second session of the county's farmers' sports games in 1965, 384 basketball players from 21 teams competed.
In the 1990s, as the basketball tournament in Taipan grew in size and quality, the third generation of Taipan's basketball players took to the court to display their skills.
Li Zhengkui, a villager from Taipan and PE teacher at the county's vocational school, is also a basketball player and referee.
"The key to being a good referee is to remain fair and unbiased, and Taipan is known for being fair," Li said. "In Taipan, whenever a basketball tournament is held, the village team refrains from participating and instead focuses on providing services."
Lu Dajiang, Li Zhengkui, Lyu Wenbin, Cen Jianglong and Zhang Shoushuang (L to R) pose for a photo in the basketball court in Taipan Village, June 11, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Cheng)
The celebratory atmosphere of basketball matches in Taipan has gained popularity and praise from netizens. "There is only one court in the village, and hundreds of teams sign up for the basketball tournament each year during the Chixin Festival," Li mentioned.
Inspired by the village's basketball-mad environment, new generations of local people also love the sport. Zhang Shoushuang, party secretary of Taipan, noted that out of more than 1,100 people in Taipan, two-thirds of them play basketball.
Cen Jianglong, part of the fourth generation of basketball players, also serves on the organizing committee of the basketball tournament in Taipan.
"In the past, when I worked outside, the first thing I looked for was a factory with a basketball court," said Cen, a member of the "post-85s" generation.
Last year, as the basketball tournament in the village gained widespread attention, he quit his job and returned to his hometown to start his own business.
At the conclusion of basketball competitions in the village, children always swarm the court to play, preparing the next generation for the future. ■
