There are no big screens or superstars and yet an outdoor basketball (compete) in rural China has attracted tens of thousands to its matches. Its popularity is even comparable to of the Olympic Games.
Widely known as CunBA— Cun meaning village in Chinese, the basketball event (hold)in Taipan Village in Taijiang County in Guizhou Province every year, which is an important part of a traditional Miao ethnic harvest (收获)festival during the lunar calendar month of June.
From July 30 to August 2 this year, 16 teams from across Guizhou Province took part in the event (name) Guizhou Beautiful Village Basketball League. Most of the players were farmers, with only the referees (裁判) (have) professional experience. More than 10, 000 people watched the games every evening and millions watched online.
Because of the (boom) of the games, many had to stand outside the seating area, even climbing onto nearby hills and rooftops to watch. People hit water bottles together as they cheered their favourite teams. During (break) of matches, local artists performed traditional Miao-style dances, forming a kind of cheering squad (拉拉队).
After 27 matches, this year a team from Liping County (win) the championship after beating a team from Kaili City, with a score of 102 to 85. One of the players, Yang Changyi, said," Basketball is our hobby. we are not professional players, we have a dream in our heart—to show ourselves on a bigger stage."
