Rural Resurgence the Goal of Soccer Tourism Promotion
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6 | Monday, April 19, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY CHINA TALKING POINT Exercise provides a range of benefits Li Hongyang I am not the kind of person who usually gets on well with children. I have never been confident dealing with them because I don’t know what they like or dislike. However, I recently found myself revising that opinion at my best friend’s home after an enjoyable time playing a game with her 7-year-old cousin. That inspired two thoughts: first, children tend to have good rela- tionships with adults who play games with them; second, they need more sports training. The boy and I played with a bal- People from Yangwei and nearby villages in Liping county, Guizhou province, often play soccer on the pitch after it was opened in January. PHOTOS BY ZHAO YUEYANG / FOR CHINA DAILY loon as if it were a volleyball. Since the “ball” was light and floated easi- ly, it was easy for the little boy to hit. Village cadres promised that resi- We both enjoyed the game, but dents would be able to use the pitch I was not as persistent as him. For free of charge and said it would add nearly an hour, he performed impetus to moves to develop tour- beyond my expectations because Rural resurgence the goal ism and rural entertainment I had thought that children were venues. They also took the lead in unable to focus their attention guiding and organizing locals in easily. maintenance work. When I left, he waved goodbye to me. I could tell from his eyes that he of soccer tourism promotion National plan wanted me to stay longer and con- Establishing soccer pitches is part tinue our game. It was one of the of a national plan to improve public few times a child had shown me Villages are prospering and living standards are rising as matches draw visitors to health by boosting participation in such obvious friendship. sports. Sports are not only about phys- the countryside. Li Hongyang reports from Beijing with Yang Jun in Guiyang. In July 2019, the National Devel- ical benefits but also mental opment and Reform Commission ones. Games create relaxing and the General Administration of atmospheres for families, et’s go and play soccer!” Sports issued a guideline that aimed improve people’s reactions and In a WeChat group to promote the development of soc- enhance concentration. containing more than cer and other sports, along with However, packed academic 400 villagers, people related businesses. schedules mean children in China “Lwho are free from farm work and The NDRC selected a number of rarely have time for sports. More- chores always enjoy receiving this demonstration cities and counties over, there is a lack of sports fields proposal. nationwide and arranged funds and guidance from busy parents In response, they join games from the central budget to subsidize and schools. played on a new artificial pitch in the laying of a number of soccer Last year, the Ministry of Educa- Yangwei, a village in Liping county, pitches. Venues were built in the tion said students in primary, mid- Guizhou province. provinces of Hebei, Guangdong, dle and high schools should In October, the village completed Sichuan, Fujian and Guizhou. exercise for at least one hour a day. laying the pitch, which cost 3 million Meng Wei, a commission spokes- It also strictly forbade schools yuan ($460,000). The funds were person, told a 2019 press conference from replacing physical education provided by the central and local gov- that the number of soccer facilities classes with other subjects. That’s a ernments, and the pitch was put into in China was inadequate, while dis- big temptation because universi- use at the beginning of the year. tribution was poor and the utiliza- ties use exam scores as major crite- Now, villagers — male and female, tion rate was low. ria for admission. old and young — have a bigger and “The move will meet the rising In rural China, schools are short dedicated place to play sports, sing, demand for better physical fitness of sporting facilities, so students sunbathe and hold festivals. among the populace and encourage have fewer chances to play games “Before, people tended to fill greater participation in soccer such as soccer, ping-pong and their time by eating and drinking games,” she said. badminton. wine together, but now they exer- Wu, the Yangwei village head, is In urban areas, schools are better cise. We see lots of energetic villag- now in discussions with the Guizhou equipped with exercise facilities ers instead of tipsy ones,” said Yang Evening News to found a soccer club but students have more distrac- Bin, a 40-year-old resident. and provide one-on-one guidance for tions, including electronic devices, People from neighboring villages children who love the game. family activities and extracurricu- also benefit, and they often take Clockwise from left: Villagers from the Dong ethnic group sing and play instruments on the soccer He added that the village commit- lar classes. part in friendly matches or join in field in February. Residents who left to become migrant workers play soccer on a trip home. Players tee is planning to train hundreds of Busy parents, common in both with the Dong Grand Chorus. pose for a group photo after a soccer game in February. children from both rural and urban rural and urban areas, have little The art form — a traditional areas. extra energy to accompany their multivoiced type of music made by “The rural scenery and traditional children to outdoor activities. people from the Dong ethnic group Last year, per capita disposable soccer competition between mar- benefits and would occupy much- culture will help attract young fans to Soccer pitches in the rural areas — was included in UNESCO’s list of income in the village reached 8,000 ried and single people, including his needed farmland. “Few villagers our field for training,” he said. in the southwestern provinces of intangible cultural heritage in yuan, from 6,000 yuan in 2018. 20-year-old daughter who studies at knew anything about soccer or the Yangwei is also building a recep- Sichuan and Guizhou are part of 2009. Dong people who live in As a result, the Yangwei authorities a college in Duyun city, Guizhou. rules. Some didn’t even know what tion center for non-residents who attempts to expand awareness of Yangwei often perform the songs removed 467 people from a list of “My team, the married one, won, soccer was, so they saw it as a useless visit to play soccer, while a museum sports nationwide. at local festivals. impoverished residents. They were but it doesn’t matter who wins so activity,” Yang said. is being planned to display old pho- Some of the residents of Yang- “Hundreds or even thousands of the last members of the population of long as everyone has fun,” Yang said. In May last year, the village com- tos and artifacts, such as traditional wei, a village in Guizhou that was spectators come to the pitch for the 2,265 to be officially declared free “After learning to play soccer, the mittee held a meeting to discuss tools and clothes. once classified as poverty-stricken, games or the festival chorus. That from poverty in the village. villagers have become more cooper- where to lay the pitch. Finally, the “The soccer pitch is providing the had never heard of soccer and enhances the friendship and feel- ative and more willing to do things 8,250-square-meter pitch was laid opportunity to develop sports tour- didn’t know the rules. ing of unity between our close Cooperation for the public well-being, including mainly on barren land, but also on ism and is a good way to renew rural That didn’t stop them from neighbors and us,” Yang said. The soccer pitch has helped the cleaning the streets.” some farmland. areas,” Wu said. eagerly trying the game on their He earns about 50,000 yuan a villagers lead healthier lives as their Despite the game’s growing popu- Wu Min, the village head, said it new pitch, though. year in Shanghai, driving a truck incomes and standard of living have larity, when the plan to lay the soc- was decided that residents who vol- Wang Jin contributed to this story. Beginning to play sports does for a factory, but during the harvest improved. cer pitch was first mooted, a few of unteered land would be allowed to not necessarily require formal season he returns to his hometown In February, Yang and some fel- the villagers disagreed because they use fields owned by the entire vil- Contact the writer at training or knowledge, but interest to help with farm work. low residents organized a mixed-sex thought the facility would bring no lage as recompense. [email protected] is paramount. Likewise, establishing games fields does not require comprehen- encourage people to stay as long as double that in 2013, Tan said. sive planning that takes every fac- possible. They can drink coffee or “The villagers have an intense tor into consideration, including The game’s afoot for eager residents red wine and even pick fresh vegeta- desire for better facilities and new job local people’s level of education and bles,” Tan said. opportunities. They no longer have to financial situations. By LI HONGYANG Soccer fans from cities in the the newspaper that the fruit tasted In 2017, Chengdu Economic Daily go to cities for work because they can Any sports field, no matter how province, such as Shifang and good and that he and his teammates reported that Sanhe had hired earn good money in the coffee shops simple, can pique people’s interest Soccer has become a major reason Guanghan, have taken part in always bought some to take home coaches from the city’s Southwest and hotels at home,” he added.