As China continues its drive toward rural revitalization, an intriguing phenomenon has emerged: the blossoming of modern sports events in unexpected locations, such as remote mountain villages. These non-professional leagues have recently gripped the nation, accumulating billions of views online, attracting a surge of tourists who not only come to watch the amateur matches but also to enjoy the local culinary delights and absorb the cultural heritages exclusive to the countryside.
These grass-roots events have been given a substantial boost by a recent government initiative. The General Administration of Sport of China, along with eleven other ministries and commissions, published a document outlining a plan to establish over 100 rural sports events by 2035, aiming to invigorate rural revitalization on a national scale. These events are designed to promote mass sports in rural areas by 2025 and smooth out sports mechanisms to facilitate rural rejuvenation more effectively.
In the southwestern Chinese county of Rongjiang, the Cun Chao, or village super league, a village soccer league, has become a significant sports phenomenon since its establishment. This local soccer sensation has positively impacted local tourism, with hotel reservations in Rongjiang reportedly increasing by 15 times during the recent Dragon Boat Festival compared to the same period in 2019, as per China’s leading travel platform qunar.com.
The soccer matches’ raw authenticity and local participants’ pure passion have contributed significantly to the league’s popularity. With no professional players and no tickets required, these matches are filled with players from diverse ethnic groups and backgrounds, including drivers, students, and farmers, ranging in age from 15 to over 40 years old.
However, the road to success hasn’t been without its bumps. Previous attempts at organizing local events to draw tourists met with little success, and the county learned valuable lessons from these failures. Xu Bo, the magistrate of Rongjiang county, emphasized that the soccer league’s success resulted from a blend of sports and Rongjiang’s unique culture.
Similar sentiments are echoed by other experts. Wang Dazhao, a Beijing-based senior sports commentator, noted that selecting a suitable event is crucial for promoting rural revitalization. Only those activities rooted in local conditions and involving the masses can truly make an impact.
Additionally, Wang highlighted the need for these grassroots events to be managed by local villagers, emphasizing the long-term nature of this project given the existing economic disparities between rural and urban areas.
These efforts align with the National Fitness Program for 2021 to 2025, announced by the State Council of China in August 2021. The program aims to increase regular sports participation among 38.5 percent of the population by 2025, signifying China’s ambitions to make sports and fitness a key pillar of national development. This fitness-centric vision is hoped to culminate in the realization of comprehensive fitness facility coverage in counties, villages, and communities, all within a 15-minute walk.
The country’s successful endeavor to blend sports with local culture, as exemplified by the soccer league in Guizhou and the volleyball culture in Hainan, signals the power of sports in uniting communities and fostering a strong sense of identity. This unity forms a crucial foundation for rural revitalization and signifies a return to community-oriented activities, echoing the essence of sports as a form of entertainment for the masses.
As China continues on this path of rural revitalization through sports, it is undeniable that these initiatives not only promote fitness and foster community spirit but also spark a renewed interest in local culture and tourism. The effective merging of sports with local cultural heritages offers an innovative way to drive national development, further highlighting the pivotal role of sports in societal advancement.
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