A women's basketball team from southwest China's Guizhou Province, known as "Auntie Basketball," played games and took part in activities with local high school students during a tour of the United States aimed at promoting exchanges between the two countries.
by Xinhua writer Gao Shan
WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Forget the traveling call, just run with the ball. Forget about winning or losing, just enjoy the game.
Cheers, applause and laughter filled the gym at Crimson Cliffs High School in Washington, Utah, on Friday as a women's basketball team from Guizhou Province in southwestern China took on the school's team in a highly unusual game that brought together two groups of young people - and two cultures - on the same court.
The visiting team, known as "Auntie Basketball," comes from a grassroots sporting tradition that originated in the Miao villages of Leishan County in southeastern Guizhou.
In the Miao community, women who have married and returned to their hometowns are affectionately called "Gu Ma," or "aunties." What began as a recreational activity for women returning home has gradually grown into a showcase for Guizhou's ethnic culture and rural vitality.
Unlike conventional basketball, Auntie Basketball has its own playful rules: Players can carry the ball and run with it rather than having to dribble.
The result is less about the intensity of competition and more about fun, community and participation.
Before the game, the gym came alive with songs from the Miao villages and energetic traditional dances. Dressed in colorful ethnic costumes, the visiting players performed for hundreds of students and teachers, drawing enthusiastic applause from the crowd.
But the biggest excitement came when the players took the court.
The aunties faced Crimson Cliffs' Mustangs, whose mascot is the mustang, in what quickly became a lighthearted cultural exchange through basketball.
The American players initially struggled to adjust to the unusual rules, particularly the idea that they could run while carrying the ball instead of dribbling. But their solid fundamentals and teamwork soon kicked in.
Fast-paced plays, quick passes and accurate shots kept the game lively, with the two teams trading baskets and giving the crowd plenty to cheer about. The chants from the stands grew louder: "Go, Gu Ma!" in Chinese and "Go, Mustangs!" in English.
At one point, a tall Crimson Cliffs student dressed in a shirt and tie joined the aunties on the court. His exaggerated, "wild" and playful style of play sent the crowd into fits of laughter and pushed the atmosphere to another level.
Reagan Haws, a Crimson Cliffs player, said that she found the game "really fun," especially because of the unusual rules.
"It was just like a new experience. It was great to see the other cultures," she added.
Crimson Cliffs Principal Kim Monkres welcomed the Chinese team to the school and said the visit provided an opportunity for cultural exchange between the two countries.
"I'm just so thrilled that we have the opportunity to bring Chinese culture together with ours," she told Xinhua.
"The dual language program in our school has been such a blessing. It's one of my favorite classes to sit in to. I have no idea what they're saying, but the kids do."
Monkres said seeing how much the students have learned over the years and how fluent they have become in Chinese is "truly phenomenal."
Monkres also expressed enthusiasm about China's plan to invite 100,000 young Americans to visit China for exchange and study programs over the next five years, saying she hopes Crimson Cliffs will have an opportunity to participate.
Shen Xin, vice president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, who led the Auntie Basketball delegation to the United States, said the sport's grassroots and entertaining nature makes it an effective way to bring people from the two countries closer together.
"It can help American people get a closer look at the everyday lives of ordinary people in China and learn more about the country's diverse ethnic cultures and traditions," Shen said, adding that he believes such people-to-people exchanges can help strengthen the foundation of China-U.S. relations.
The Auntie Basketball team's U.S. tour, which began earlier this week, includes stops in California, Nevada, Utah and Washington state. ■
