Slam Dunks in the Countryside

W ithout a fancy arena， corporate sponsorship， pre-game promotions， or even tickets sold， players fiercely charged up and down a red and green basketball court， making spectacular plays one after another. Thousands of spectators cheered on their impressive performance.

The basketball game was organized and played by local people in a village of Taipan Township， Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture， in southwestern Chinas Guizhou Province. Without professional or famous players， the competition went viral on the internet.

An intangible cultural heritage item of Guizhou Province， the Chixin Festival is a traditional event to celebrate a good harvest in early autumn and pray for another in the coming year. In Chinese，“Chixin” means “tasting the newly harvested rice.”

During the festival， local villagers organize various celebration activities， among which basketball games have emerged as the most popular. This year， a basketball event in the remote mountain area attracted widespread attention across the country due to exposure on short video platforms. The event was affectionately dubbed “Village BA” by the netizens for its warm atmosphere—with a nod to the “NBA” and “CBA.”

Soon thereafter， the “internet-famous”basketball court in Taipan Township received a series of important sporting events—the semi-finals and finals of the Qiandongnan Division of the “Beautiful Countryside” Basketball League. Views of a livestream of the final championship match exceeded a million， not to mention numerous views on other broadcasting platforms.

The basketball games were brimming with rural style. The basketball court was built by the villagers themselves. Players were selected from local people， and fans all hailed from nearby villages. Empty seats couldnt be found. People brought benches from home， rented ladders， and even watched from rooftops and walls. To cheer as loudly as possible， some brought iron pots and basins. Each swish was followed by the thunderous rumble of iron utensils.

The halftime shows featured unique Miao ethnic dance. The winning team took home agricultural prizes such as cattle， sheep， pigs， and watermelons. Interestingly， live play-by-play broadcasters alternated between Mandarin， Guizhou dialect， and the Miao language while delivering commentary throughout the game.

Not only did the games emit strong “rural characteristics，” but also highlighted a wild “overnight” culture. Some competitions continued from daytime to the middle of the night and even the next morning. Many villagers took their whole families to the site several hours before opening. They came fully prepared with enough food and water to watch for long.

In fact， basketball has long been popular in this locale. According to the Chronicles of Guizhous Sports， as early as 1906， a primary school in Dushan County in Qianxinan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture built a basketball court and began to organize basketball activities. The sport has since flourished in the province.

In the 1970s， a Miao village womens basketball team from Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture became well-known both inside and outside Guizhou Province. Basketball games gradually became popular among local spectators. Every time a game started， villagers from the surrounding areas would flock to watch. Many young men working in big cities would return home to compete.

In addition to the historical heritage of basketball culture and sports foundation among ethnic minorities in Guizhou， the Village BA sensation also reflects strong demand among Chinas rural people for high-quality cultural life.

Consolidation of poverty alleviation achievements and promotion of rural revitalization efforts in China in recent years have resulted in accumulating benefits for rural people. Steep improvements in living standards have provided them more time and money to participate in sports and other cultural activities.

“The more people attend sports， the less they engage in gambling. The more games they watch together， the fewer fights they have with each other.” A good cultural environment has been shown to exert positive influence on rural people and the wider social atmosphere.

Wang Zhigang， vice chairman and secretary general of the Zhejiang Basketball Association， credited sports with playing an important role in the construction of Chinese rural culture. “Village BA got more people involved in sports which connected hearts， enhanced sentiment for the countryside， and more importantly， fertilized the soil of Chinese culture，” he said.