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"Village BA" in Kunming is on Fire!

Source: InKunming | 2023-06-29 | Editor:Amy

A basketball game attracted five thousand spectators. Security personnel advised the audience not to climb trees to watch the game under every tree next to the basketball court.

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During half-time, women dressed in Yi and Miao clothing sang and danced. Each one of them was the most beautiful "basketball cheerleader".

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A three-point shot won the championship. The championship team received the award, which is actually a cattle! The second, third, and fourth place teams brought back black goats, chickens, and hams.

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On June 24th, the first "Village BA" of Luquan County, the 2023 Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County basketball game, successfully concluded. The four-day event was viewed online and offline by more than 120,000 people. The story of beautiful and livable villages and thriving businesses is still unfolding...

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A basketball court was built

The county guarding the "northern gateway" from Yunnan to Sichuan is Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County, where 24 nationalities including Han, Yi, Miao, and Lisu reside. Ninety percent of the globally preserved ancient Yi script books come from Luquan.

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The annual Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the "Flower Mountain Festival," is celebrated by all ethnic groups in Luquan County. In early April, Zhongping Town in Luquan County proposed to hold the first "Village BA" during the Flower Mountain Festival. This coincided with Luquan County's implementation of the concept of "building beautiful and livable villages and promoting rural revitalization" proposed in the report of the 20th CPC National Congress. The venue was set up in Huoben Village, representing one of the achievements of rural revitalization in Zhongping Town.
The couplet "This is the place where the black Yi dream comes true. Every family enjoys prosperity in this properous era," reflecting the voice of the people in Huoben Village. Surrounded by mountains and flowing water, Huoben Village is a beautiful and eco-friendly place.
Huoben Village has not only beautiful scenery but also happy people. In the process of renovating dilapidated rural houses that began in 2016, the village adhered to the principle of "Emphasis is placed on repair, with reconstruction as a supplement," emphasizing the preservation of the original style of the houses. This not only transformed dilapidated houses into new homes for poor families but also protected and inherited traditional Yi architecture and traditional villages.
"Huoben has everything beautiful, except for a plastic basketball court!" Zhang Chengyue, party secretary of the Xinan Village Party Committee and head of the village committee, was appointed as the head coach of the Zhongping Town team. He recalled that within just two months, the plastic court was built and basketball stands were installed, and villagers signed up one after another. Through communication with previous Luquan "Laoxiang Cup" basketball players and other selecting methods, 12 players were recruited quickly. All the players were from Zhongping Town, from various professions, with the oldest being 35 years old and the youngest being 20.

"Village BA" portrays a new picture of life

Without professional commentators, two staff members from Zhongping Town, Bao Jing and Shi Jianrui, did the commentary work. Without cheerleaders, young girls dressed in ethnic costumes sang and danced, inspiring the players' morale. To watch a game, seats had to be taken three hours in advance, or it was impossible to get in.

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Not only the Zhongping team, but also representatives from 15 towns (sub-districts) in Luquan County participated in the game, each showing off their skills. The champions, runners-up, and third-place winners of this "Village BA" competition all have different awarding names. The prizes were special products including old cattles, black goats, and hams. The prizes were not important; everyone was competing for the rankings. The Zhongping team displayed a banner that said "Keep the championship in Zhongping," which other teams laughed and said it was "too arrogant!"
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Although "Village BA" is localized, to ensure the professionalism and fairness of the basketball game, a national first-class referee was specially invited, and all standards were formulated according to international basketball standards. "The scale and popularity of the game far exceeded expectations!" Zhang Chengyue said. Originally, it was estimated that a basketball game with about 2,000 viewers would be relatively large in scale. People estimated that there would be at least 3,000 viewers. Unexpectedly, once the "Village BA" event schedule was released, people from surrounding counties and even non-locals rushed back to watch. Nearly 5,000 people poured in for the final. Audience were so excited to watch that there weren't enough seats, and villagers brought chairs to stand on, forming a circle inside another circle. The outer circle of the audience was advised by security personnel to "watch the live broadcast instead!"

Just as a drop of water can refract the sun, a "Village BA" reflects the changes in the villagers' lives from poverty alleviation to prosperity, and then to the pursuit of physical health, inner fulfillment, and spiritual happiness. The report of the 20th CPC National Congress proposed "Comprehensively promoting rural revitalization. Coordinating the layout of rural infrastructure and public services, building beautiful, livable, and prosperous rural areas." From "beautiful villages" to "beautiful and livable villages," the happiness, satisfaction, and sense of achievement among villagers have been continuously enhanced. Luquan is also continuing to advance towards the goals of industrial harmony, ecological harmony, cultural harmony, governance harmony, and social harmony.

Click here to view Chinese report

(Editors: Christine, Amy)


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