Village basketball tournaments go viral across China, bolstering local consumption

The "Village Basketball Association", a grassroots amateur basketball tournament often played in China's rural areas, is drawing massive crowds and energizing local economies.

These tournaments, held in villages and featuring amateur basketball players, were dubbed by Chinese netizens as "CunBA", with "Cun" meaning village in Chinese.

In Baoqing County, Shuangyashan City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the Heilongjiang Regional Final of the 2025 Northeast Four Provinces (Regions) and Hemei Rural Basketball League concluded on Monday with the Shuangyashan Baoqing team claiming the championship title.

The final games, kicked off on Saturday and featuring 18 rural teams from across Heilongjiang Province, attracted a large number of spectators.

Last Tuesday, Yiwu City in east China's Zhejiang Province also launched its own "CunBA" tournament.

With enthusiastic spectators packing the stands in the basketball court at Jiabotang Village, Shangxi Town in the city, the competing teams engaged in fierce back-and-forth battles, creating an electrifying atmosphere full of tension and excitement.

Additionally, Langao County in northwest China's Shaanxi Province officially opened its third provincial "CunBA" tournament on Sunday, which will run from July through October.

During the three-month event, it will not only feature basketball competitions, but also include consumption promotion activities.

By transforming the tournament's popularity into actual sales of agricultural products, these promotion activities are amplifying the effect of e-commerce on boosting farmers' incomes, ultimately contributing to local industrial upgrading.

Village basketball tournaments go viral across China, bolstering local consumption

Village basketball tournaments go viral across China, bolstering local consumption

Village basketball tournaments go viral across China, bolstering local consumption

The legitimate rights of the Palestinian people must be respected and protected, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.

Mao made the remarks in response to a media query about the reports that the Israeli parliament recently adopted a new law introducing death penalty for Palestinians, and countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have expressed strong condemnation, saying such practice is "entrenching a system of apartheid."

"All legislation must conform to legal principles such as the principle of legality, fairness and justice, and must not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, nationality or political view. The legitimate rights of the Palestinian people must be respected and protected. Relevant party’s actions that escalate tensions and exacerbate confrontation must stop," said Mao.

Palestinian people's legitimate rights must be respected, protected: Chinese FM spokeswoman