Deep in Miao Ling, the night falls. In Taipan Village, Taijiang County, Qiandongnan Prefecture, the stadium is brightly lit and cheers are endless. Compared with a year ago, the scene is equally warm and the atmosphere is equally happy, but the stadium in the village has become the scene of the national and American country basketball competition.
Since July 12th, last year, the "June 6th" New Year’s Basketball Tournament held by villagers in Taipan Village spontaneously became popular all over the network due to the fiery live atmosphere and grounded running style.
In response to the ardent expectations of the broad masses of peasants for physical fitness and healthy life, the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the General Office of the State Sports General Administration jointly issued a notice in early June to hold the National and American Country Basketball Competition (Village BA) to help comprehensively promote rural revitalization and accelerate the construction of an agricultural power.
On June 20th, the opening match of this event was held in Taipan Village, and the farmers’ basketball team of Qiandongnan Prefecture of Guizhou Province played against the farmers’ basketball team of Linxia Prefecture of Gansu Province at home. In October, the finals of the competition will also be held in Taipan Village. Within a year, a basketball match spontaneously organized by a small mountain village gave birth to a national competition, which is really rare.
Where is the fire?
The three rounds of events that made Taipan Village hot "out of the circle" took place from July 12 to August 9 last year. During the "June 6th" New Festival Basketball Tournament in Taipan Village, the semi-final of the "beautiful countryside" Basketball League in Guizhou Province and the beautiful countryside Basketball Exchange Tournament in cooperation with Foqian, the average audience per game exceeded 15,000. However, due to the limited capacity of the venue, more than 10,000 people lingered outside because they failed to enter the site.
The hot scene on the scene spread rapidly across the whole network through short videos. In the end, the three-round country basketball game was viewed more than 1 billion times on the whole network and was nicknamed "Village BA" by netizens.
Where is the fire in a basketball game in a small mountain village?
The country basketball game originated in Miaoling Mountain, which is closely related to the local minority culture and long basketball tradition. Yang Dezhao, the county magistrate of Taijiang County, said that there are many ethnic festivals in Taijiang County, and there is a saying in the local area that "every festival must be played and basketball must be played first". Whenever a basketball game starts, villagers from ten miles and eight townships will flock to it. In order to participate in and watch basketball games, many villagers who go out to work will travel thousands of miles back to their hometown.
There are more than 270 households with more than 1,100 people in Taipan Village, and about two-thirds of the villagers play basketball. Zhang Shoushuang, secretary of Taipan Village, said: "Since 1936, Taipan Village has held at least one basketball game every year, and it has never stopped. The ball game in my hometown is a kind of homesickness. "
Cen Jianglong, president of Taipan Village Basketball Association, used to work outside the home, and he had to take special leave every year to hold a basketball match. Last year, he simply quit his job and went back to the village to open a restaurant near the stadium with his wife. Whenever there was a basketball match in the village, business was booming.
There is no electronic screen, no commercial advertisement, only a concrete floor painted with plastic in front of the village committee, but the players on the court are running and dunking with all their strength, and the fans in the stands are cheering and shouting, which makes the basketball game with simple hardware "full of atmosphere". In the short aerial video that was originally madly forwarded, there were a sea of people inside and outside the stadium, all people on the hillside and the roof, and all the trees and ladders were "hung" with the audience. The popularity of the competition and the enthusiasm of the villagers have infected netizens all over the world through the images with great impact.
Some games go on until 4 am the next day, from dawn to dark, and then to dawn, and few spectators leave early, which is called "dawn culture" locally.
The tradition of the project and the passion of the masses are the basis for the initial popularity of "Village BA". The competition has a village flavor, and the cultural characteristics add a fire to the continued popularity.
The competition was held spontaneously by the villagers, and all the contestants were villagers. During the intermission, Miao’s brothers and sisters presented Miao’s characteristic songs and dances, which added luster to the competition. In the "Village BA" finals in March this year, a song "Love of My Life" sung in Miao language triggered a lot of interaction and was sung on multiple online platforms.
The prizes of the competition are local yellow cattle, fragrant sheep, fragrant pigs, etc. Even the explanation of the game is mixed with the local dialect and Miao language … … Chang Hai, Party Secretary and Director of Qiandongnan Culture, Sports, Radio, Film and Television Tourism Bureau, believes that the country basketball game won the grounding gas, distinctive and strong village flavor floating inside and outside the Internet.
Where is the "win"?
The successful experience of Taiwan Basketball Village Competition is regarded as a "Taijiang model" for rural sports to boost rural revitalization.
With the further consolidation of the results of poverty alleviation, the villagers have a rich life and their demand for spiritual and cultural life is growing. Pan Nianjing, director of the Propaganda Department of Taijiang County Committee, said that Taijiang County has made great efforts to coordinate the connection between urban and rural areas and paid attention to the coordinated promotion of "material prosperity" and "spiritual prosperity". Basketball activities have been integrated into the daily life of Taijiang people, constantly inspiring and satisfying people’s yearning for a better life.
Driven by "Village BA", the regional GDP of Taijiang County reached 4.498 billion yuan last year, up 9% year-on-year, ranking first in the province. At the end of March this year, the first "beautiful countryside" basketball league finals in Guizhou Province took only three days, which led Taipan Township to receive 181,900 tourists and realized a comprehensive tourism income of 55.16 million yuan. On June 20 this year, on the day of the opening ceremony of the national and American country basketball competition, the comprehensive tourism income of the township exceeded 35 million yuan.
Taking advantage of the east wind of the "out of the circle" of the event, the sales of local agricultural special products, national costumes and special handicrafts have also increased one after another. Zhang De, the first resident secretary of Taipan Village, said that it is a good way for Taipan Village to make good use of the signboard of rural basketball games, to help tourists, support production and promote literature through competitions, to develop and strengthen the village collective economy, and to strengthen the integration of agriculture, sports and tourism.
Now, in Taipan Village, we can see the fiery scenes of villagers’ renovation and renovation of houses everywhere. Yang Pinggui, a villager in Taipan Village, is building a four-story villa with a total area of 1,000 square meters. He said: "I want to make the building a homestay and get a little light from the country basketball game."
No matter in the future planning of the rural basketball match, or in the rural landscape and industrial development, Taipan Village insists on letting the villagers be the masters. Zhang De said: "Taipan Village has held four villagers’ congresses to discuss the renovation plan and future development of the stadium, and the relevant practices have been agreed by 80% of the villagers. There is something to discuss, and everyone’s reasons are discussed by everyone, which has become a magic weapon for Taipan Village to adhere to the dominant position of villagers and provide some inspiration for grassroots governance. "
"Village BA" has become popular so far, and tourists from all over the country come here. Wang Bin, director of the Religious Affairs Bureau of Taijiang County, believes that the sports event has developed from a local recreational and sports activity to a sports event for people of all ethnic groups all over the country. "This hot basketball game has created a platform for people of all ethnic groups to build, share and work together. As tourists from all ethnic groups watch basketball games, enjoy national song and dance performances and taste ethnic specialties, the sense of the Chinese nation community is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people."
Taking sports as a platform and doing a good job in the article "Sports Plus" not only shows the multi-function of sports, but also makes "Village BA" win multiple effects: it not only enriches cultural life, stimulates rural economy, but also enhances national unity and promotes grassroots governance. Yang Dezhao said: "In the new round of rural revitalization, rural sports cannot be absent."
Where is the "difficulty"?
When the news came that the national and American country basketball competition was held and the finals were settled in Taipan Village, Taijiang County, the young people in Taipan Village were boiling. But in addition to excitement, there are also concerns.
Zong Shifa, an associate professor in guizhou minzu university, said that it is a good thing for "village BA" to be launched nationwide, but it is difficult to maintain "village flavor". Many netizens are worried that some places will lose their local authenticity due to excessive government intervention, capital intervention or commercial speculation.
The notice of launching the national and American country basketball competition pointed out that it is necessary to uphold the principle of "farmers are the main body, pragmatic and simple, safe and orderly, and farmers are interested in farming". Zong Shifa said that "the four principles of running the competition need to be implemented to the end to prevent the risk of going out of shape".
Many villagers’ meetings were held in Taipan Village, and it became a decision supported by the villagers that "village BA" should be named "village". Wang Zaigui, the commentator of the country basketball match, said that in the early days when the country basketball fire broke out, many companies came to provide sponsorship, but asked the match to advertise their products. "Such a request is too commercialized and goes against the original intention of the country basketball game, so we all declined." Wang Zaigui said.
"village BA" is on fire, and the flow is there. However, it is not easy to change "flow" into "reserve", let attention change into consumption, and let "instant fire" change into "constant fire". It is necessary to use the brand of "Village BA" to do a good job in project investment, maintain a balance between commercial operation and agricultural interest, and explore the integrated development of agricultural sports, culture and tourism. In this regard, Wang Jun, executive deputy magistrate of Taijiang County, said frankly that Taijiang County still needs to "take the pulse" and "support" and "need more guidance and help from relevant departments and experts".
The ability to host the competition and security are also challenges.
For Taipan Village, time is not enough, not only for the start of the new basketball horse race on June 15th, but also for the finals of the National and American Country Basketball Competition in October.
"To be honest, there is a certain pressure, but we will do our best to adhere to high standards." Cen Jianglong said that this "June 6th" basketball competition is also a test of the ability to host the upcoming finals of the National and American Country Basketball Competition.
It is conceivable that there will be a large number of foreign tourists, and reception and security will be tested. Taijiang County proposed to further strengthen the organization of sports events, do a good job in transportation, security, meteorology, medical care and sanitation, strengthen risk prevention and improve the level of emergency management.
Since last year, Taipan Village has added more than 10,000 basketball stand seats, built 1,000 square meters of parking lots, renovated 2,500 square meters of mobile booths and renovated 40,000 square meters of walls. These days, in order to welcome the upcoming two competitions, the village committee of Taipan Village has also mobilized villagers to carry out environmental remediation and risk investigation. "Around the stadium, on both sides of the road, in front of the house and behind the house, etc. have become key rectification areas, and strive to avoid safety accidents during the competition and leave a good impression on fans and tourists." Yan Jianglong said.
(Reporter Li Li Ou Dian Qiu Jiang Cheng Xu Shihao)
Xinhua News Agency, Guiyang, July 11th
