Basketball has become a part of people's daily life in Dongguan City of south China's Guangdong Province, a host city for basketball matches of China's 15th National Games.
The Games, co-hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, will officially open on Sunday evening.
Inside the Dongguan Basketball Center, basketball competitions for the Games are in full swing in Dongguan, with players battling it out on the court as fans cheer passionately from the stands.
The excitement is felt not just in the professional courts but across local neighborhoods.
In Bajiaowo Community of the city's Wanjiang Subdistrict, a friendly basketball match organized by residents drew excited crowds of spectators, including a young mother with her five-month-old baby in her arms, watching her husband taking an active part in the game.
From the professional courts of the National Games to the brightly lit village playgrounds, basketball in Dongguan is more than a sport but a lifestyle. The city now boasts nearly 6,000 basketball courts, enabling residents to find a place to play within a 15-minute walk.
Well-developed sports facilities and a thriving basketball culture have laid a strong foundation for Dongguan to host the National Games.
Many students begin systematic training from a young age.
"The games I watched when I was younger inspired me to play basketball myself," said Chen Feng, a member of a basketball team from Dongguan Guangming Middle School.
"Here we have games every month or even every day. Parents are happy to see their children put what they learn in training into more competitive and formal competitions," said Zhang Jianqiang, an official with the Dongguan Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism, and Sports.
Basketball craze spreads in Dongguan hosting15th National Games' basketball match
The Republic of Korea (ROK)'s consumer price inflation eased in July, breaking a multi-month accelerating trend amid stabilizing energy prices and lower farm goods prices, statistical ministry data showed Tuesday.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.8 percent in July from a year earlier, falling below 3.0 percent in three months, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
It marked a noticeable deceleration from 3.2 percent in June, after accelerating from 2.0 percent in February to 2.2 percent in March, 2.6 percent in April and 3.1 percent in May.
Headline inflation, however, stayed above the central bank's mid-term inflation target of 2 percent for 11 straight months since September 2025.
The Bank of Korea raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent in July, turning toward monetary tightening in about three and a half years since January 2023.
Oil products price gained 15.5 percent last month, after spiking 24.7 percent in the previous month. The price lifted overall inflation by 0.60 percentage points.
Price for gasoline and diesel jumped 12.6 percent and 21.5 percent each, while computer price shot up 25.1 percent amid soaring semiconductor price. Price for industrial products, including oil products and processed food, advanced 3.7 percent in July compared to the same month last year, slower than an expansion of 4.4 percent in the previous month.
Processed food price added 1.0 percent in July from a year earlier, faster than a growth of 0.9 percent in the previous month.
Price for agricultural, livestock and fishery products climbed 0.9 percent in July from a year earlier, after picking up 3.2 percent in June.
Agricultural products price slipped 2.2 percent last month, turning downward from an increase of 1.1 percent in the prior month. Those for livestock and fishery products swelled 4.4 percent and 3.9 percent each.
Rice price mounted 7.9 percent, but those for napa cabbage, watermelon, spinach, cucumber and zucchini retreated in double figures. Those for beef, imported beef, pork, egg and mackerel increased in single digits.
Price for electricity, natural gas and tap water was up 0.4 percent in July on a yearly basis.
City gas charge and waterworks fee added in single digits, but heating cost dipped 0.2 percent.
Services price surged 2.6 percent last month, hiking up the headline inflation by 1.46 percentage points.
Public service price rose 1.4 percent, while private service price, including eating-out costs, expanded 3.5 percent.
The eating-out expense gained 2.6 percent, and the private service price excluding the dining-out cost jumped 4.1 percent.
Affected by a spike in fuel surcharges from rising oil prices, international airfares soared 21.7 percent last month.
Housing rent, including Jeonse and monthly rent, was up 1.1 percent in July from a year earlier.
Jeonse is the country's unique contract between two households where a landlord grants two-year residential rights to a tenant, who in turn lends a certain amount of money, or a deposit, to the landlord.
The livelihood items index, which gauges prices for daily necessities, climbed 2.5 percent, while the fresh food index, which measures prices for fish, shellfish, fruit and vegetables, declined 2.3 percent.
Demand-side inflationary pressure lingered. Core consumer price index, which excludes volatile agricultural and oil products, appreciated 2.5 percent last month.
The OECD-method core price, excluding volatile food and energy costs, went up 2.6 percent in the cited month.
ROK's consumer price inflation eases to 2.8 pct in July
