"Village Super" Observation: The Power of One Football Village Super | Hotel | Football
After the "Village BA", another "village level" sports event in Guizhou has become popular - the "Village Super".
"Village Super League", also known as "Guizhou Rongjiang Hemei Rural Football Super League", consists of 20 football teams spontaneously formed by villages in the local area. Since the start of the competition on May 13th this year, "Village Super" has quickly swept the internet with its down-to-earth competition style and hot on-site atmosphere.
First, let's take a look at a set of pictures and experience the "village supermarket" scene ↓
On the green field, exciting scenes such as "hanging golden hooks upside down" and long-range shooting take turns. Players come from various industries, including farmers, fruit vendors, restaurant owners, truck drivers, and school students... The youngest are 14 years old, and the oldest are in their 50s.
The stands, which can accommodate more than 50000 spectators, are packed with people from all over the country cheering and cheering. Among them are young people with boiling blood, children who have just learned to speak, and an elderly woman in her eighties.
During halftime, the cheerleaders dressed in traditional costumes, singing and dancing, walked onto the green field, dancing dragons, playing lusheng, singing Dong songs... The green field instantly transformed into a "national stage".
Villagers from various village representative teams also brought local specialty foods such as sesame cakes, rolled noodles, waxberries, and watermelons to the audience to "feed", and the scene became a "food exchange meeting".
The prizes of the "Village Super League" are also unique and down-to-earth, including pig trotters, rice flavored fish, small fragrant sheep, and local geese... Every weekend competition day, the "Village Super League" competition will last from the afternoon until midnight, and the final will be held on the evening of July 29th.
The popularity of "village supermarkets" has been ongoing, not only making the people of Rongjiang's "pockets" fuller and "minds" richer, but also providing "new ideas" for rural development.
Pockets become fuller
"Hello, do you still have a room available on Saturday and Sunday this week?"
"Sorry, the room is fully booked."
"What about next week's Saturday and Sunday?"
"The room is also full."
This is a conversation between the front desk staff of a hotel in Rongjiang County and a customer on July 20th when they received a booking inquiry call.
This hotel is less than 1 kilometer away from the "Village Super League" football field. The hotel front desk staff said, "We have booked all the rooms for the weekend of the" Village Super League "competition, and many guests have booked them a month in advance. There will be a friendly match in August, and many rooms have been booked." During the conversation, the front desk consultation phone kept ringing.
A staff member from another hotel in Rongjiang County said, "During the 'Village Super League' competition, over 100 rooms in our hotel were fully booked, and many out of town tourists made reservations in advance. Even if they booked late, they couldn't find a room."
Homestays are also in short supply. A tourist said, "If we don't book the homestay three days in advance, we may have to sleep in a tent."
Under the call of the local government, many locals in Rongjiang have taken out their own rooms and converted them into family inns. A netizen posted on social media, "My home is only 200 meters away from the 'Village Super' football field, and even my room has been requisitioned by my mother for accommodation by tourists from other places."
The surrounding areas of Rongjiang County also bear the accommodation needs of many "village supermarkets" tourists. Dali Village in Zaima Town is about 20 kilometers away from Rongjiang County. Currently, there are 13 homestays and more than 200 beds. In the past two months, after the popularity of "Village Super", it has been almost fully booked every day.
In addition to hotels and homestays, there are also local specialty foods that are in short supply.
Outside the "Village Supermarket" venue, the local government has set up hundreds of temporary free stalls, including barbecue areas, specialty snack areas, and cold drink areas, where tourists can taste the unique cuisine of Rongjiang.
A snack stall owner selling Rongjiang roll flour, Taro cake and other special snacks said: "We were busy from morning to night, setting up the stall until about 1 o'clock in the morning. There were too many people, and we could sell hundreds of bowls a day."
Another busy owner of a cowhide shop said, "Normally, I only kill one cow every day. During the 'village supermarket' period, I have to kill two cows every day, and the revenue has doubled compared to usual."
In addition to "eating" and "living", Rongjiang's "play" has also gained popularity through "village supermarkets".
According to statistics, with the support of factors such as coolness and summer vacation, as well as "village supermarkets", the orders for vacation products in Qiandongnan Prefecture on the platform during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday increased by over 150% year-on-year. Folk cultures such as Dong ethnic songs, intangible cultural heritage wax printing, and long table banquets have attracted a large number of tourists to embrace the beauty of the original ecology.
Some travel agencies have launched group tours related to "village supermarkets", connecting multiple popular tourist attractions in southeastern Guizhou, such as "Guiyang+Rongjiang+Libo Xiaoqikong+Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village+Huangguoshu Waterfall on the 6th and 5th nights".
The popularity of "Village Supermarket" has also sparked the popularity of Rongjiang's ethnic characteristic products. Rongjiang watermelon, siraitia grosvenorii, small fragrant sheep, white tea and other agricultural special products, batik, embroidery and other intangible cultural heritage products were unveiled at the "Village Supermarket", attracting the attention of many tourists.
On the field, players compete and each shows their skills; Off the field, the football economy is thriving. According to statistics, since the start of the competition on May 13th, as of July 20th, Rongjiang County has received a total of 2.5067 million tourists and achieved a comprehensive tourism revenue of 2.839 billion yuan.
The popularity of "Village Super" has spread from football to various fields such as "eating", "living", and "playing", making the "pockets" of the people of Rongjiang more abundant, driving the economic growth of the county, and achieving the "Village Competition" to drive the "Village Economy".
The brain is richer
Rongjiang County is located in the southeast of Guizhou Province, a mountainous county with a population of less than 400000. However, there are 50000 people who can play football. Seeing this data, some people may wonder: How could so many people love football in such a remote mountainous county?
When you truly come to Rongjiang, you will find that this data is not exaggerated. Many villages in Rongjiang County have their own football teams, and there are 14 standard football fields in the county, all of which are open for free. Football seems to have integrated into their bloodline.
Dong Yongheng, who currently ranks first on the "Village Super League" top scorer list, is a member of the Loyal Village football team. He opened a small shop in Rongjiang County, selling local specialty food - rolled noodles. Due to his outstanding skills and precise shooting, Dong Yongheng is affectionately referred to by netizens as the "King of Powder Rolling Shooters".
Dong Yongheng and his teammates are mostly young, and although their work locations are different, it has been a habit for many years for them to gather together on weekends to play football. Dong Yongheng said, "We have gone from coal and sand fields to natural and artificial lawns. The field is changing, but our love for football has not changed."
Wu Huayong has repeatedly mentioned his love for football. Wu Huayong is a member of the football team in Pingdi Village, Langdong Town. He once became popular throughout the internet with a beautiful "upside down golden hook".
In the match held on July 23rd, the football team led by Wu Huayong from Pingdi Village in Langdong Town unfortunately lost and was eliminated from the quarterfinals. After the game, sweaty Wu Huayong walked to the sidelines to adjust his form. "If we fail, we will definitely feel disappointed, but we have put in our best effort. We will review the game later, find our shortcomings, and continue to move forward."
Speaking of the next plan, 35 year old Wu Huayong firmly stated that he will continue to play because his love for football has not changed. "In the future, he may also cultivate more young players."
The "Village Super League" has stimulated people's enthusiasm for playing football. In Rongjiang, almost every stadium has children running around.
During and after the game, the children in the audience will rush into the field, playing with passing, dribbling, and shooting; On weekday evenings, at the "Village Super" sports stadium, there are many figures playing football, including members of the high school football team, elementary school students aged eight or nine, and children who have just learned to walk.
Yang Boyi, who is eight years old this year, is one of them. He often comes to the sports stadium to play football, "Because he loves playing football, after watching the 'Village Super League' game, he has become even more fond of football."
During the summer vacation, Wang and Qian were playing football on the football field of a primary school in Rongjiang County. Seven year old Wang has just graduated from kindergarten and loves watching and playing football. "When I grow up, I will also play 'Village Super League'!" This year's twelve year old Qian is a member of the elementary school football team and often watches' Village Super League 'matches. "I hope to represent the school team and win a championship in the future."
Rongjiang is a typical county-level football county in China and a pilot county for campus football in Guizhou. There are 14 national youth campus football characteristic schools and 41 county-level football characteristic schools.
The Second Primary School in Guzhou Town, Rongjiang County is a national youth campus football characteristic school. Principal Yang Xianze said, "The 'Village Super' creates a good atmosphere, stimulates everyone's enthusiasm for watching, learning, and playing football, and also makes children love football more. This is very important for the development of grassroots football."
"As long as everyone is willing to enter the stadium, this is a good start." said Lai Hongjing, Vice Chairman of the Rongjiang County Football Association and physical education teacher at Rongjiang No.1 Middle School. Perhaps this is the meaning of "village super". "We are not cultivating athletes, we are cultivating the father and mother of athletes."
In addition to football culture, "village supermarkets" also provide a good opportunity for spreading local ethnic culture.
During the halftime of the "Village Super League" competition, the football field becomes the "stage" of national culture: the mysterious water race slowly walks by holding their own words "Water Book"; Dong people sing the national intangible cultural heritage of Dong people's pipa songs
Villagers also brought homemade grass woven golden cows, golden dragons, and golden phoenixes to the village supermarket, stunning the entire venue. It is reported that Jinniu, Jinlong, and Jinfenghuang were designed and built by two veteran artists from Rongjiang Langdong, with over a hundred people of all ages in the village participating in the production. Ms. Cheng, who participated in the production, said, "We want to showcase the traditional craftsmanship of Langdong to the people of the whole country."
Passionate about football and involving the whole nation, "Village Super" showcases the villagers' pure love for football, making football culture more deeply rooted in people's hearts, and also showing us a Rongjiang with extremely rich spiritual life and a strong cultural atmosphere.
New ideas for rural development
The village supermarket held in Rongjiang not only promotes local economic development and creates a strong football atmosphere, but also provides new ideas for rural development in other regions of China.
Firstly, we should focus on distinctive features that appeal to the public.
Xu Bo, the county mayor of Rongjiang County, once introduced that out of the 385000 population in Rongjiang, nearly 50000 people can and enjoy playing football. "This number of people is amazing when you think about it! Therefore, organizing a football league is a comparative advantage for the local area of Rongjiang because of the high level of public participation and recognition of such activities."
Football is one of the favorite sports among the people of Rongjiang County. Its history can be traced back to the 1940s when Guangxi University moved to Rongjiang, and football was also introduced. Later, this sport gradually spread from the student population to the off campus population. In 2020, Rongjiang County, as one of the last counties in the country to lift itself out of poverty, began planning to continue rural revitalization, and football became the most distinctive cultural window in the area. The 14th Five Year Plan for Rongjiang County, released in 2021, sets "building a strong sports county" and "vigorously promoting the healthy development of sports industry" as development goals. It was also in this year that Rongjiang County was rated as one of the first national county-level football typical counties.
In recent years, Rongjiang County has taken multiple measures to promote the development of football, such as increasing football venues, regularly holding various football leagues, and promoting the development of campus football.
Secondly, promote integration and build a "sports+" brand.
Football is Rongjiang's advantage, and national culture is also Rongjiang's strength. There are more than ten ethnic groups living in Rongjiang, with ethnic minorities such as Miao, Dong, Shui, and Yao accounting for over 80% of the total population. There are more than ten world-class and national intangible cultural heritages such as Dong ethnic song and Dong pipa song here, which are rich in ethnic culture.
"Village Super" integrates football with local ethnic culture, creating a distinctive brand of "sports+ethnic culture". Football matches and folk activities are staged simultaneously, which is not only a feast for football but also a feast for culture.
Next, Rongjiang will also build the brand of "sports+food". In August, the Guizhou "Village Super" National Food Football Friendship Tournament will be launched. A total of 276 football teams will participate, from Guangdong, Fujian, Hebei, Sichuan and other places. Most of the football teams will be named after the unique local food, such as Yangzhou fried rice Football Team, Nanjing Salt Water Duck Football Team, Wenchang Coconut Chicken Football Team, etc. The teams will communicate with local food.
The Guiding Opinions on Promoting Sports to Assist Rural Revitalization, released in May this year, proposed to vigorously develop the rural sports industry and assist in the revitalization of rural industries. To create a brand sports event activity that integrates sports events, rural tourism, traditional culture, and national fitness, promoting the deep integration of sports with agriculture, commerce, tourism, and other industries, and empowering the rural economy.
Thirdly, tailored measures should be taken to local conditions, and government guarantees should be detailed and considerate.
"Village Super" is a large-scale rural sports event organized spontaneously by the public and widely participated by the masses. From team organization, schedule arrangement to program performances, prize rewards and other aspects, it is led by the villagers.
Rongjiang County Magistrate Xu Bo stated that the local government did not directly participate, but mainly did a good job in reporting and approval, maintaining order, and improving sports facilities and other logistical support work, always making the main protagonist of "village supermarkets" the masses and full of "village flavor".
When it comes to expanding the scale of "village supermarkets" in the future, Xu Bo said that he may face some specific problems, such as upgrading and renovating the venue conditions, insufficient number of grassroots coaches and referees, etc. Rongjiang County is promoting the cultivation of football talents and supporting football education in characteristic schools through the establishment of training bases, summer camps, and the establishment of village super public welfare funds.
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that Chinese path to modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all people, and the modernization of coordinated material civilization and spiritual civilization. The popularity of "village supermarket" has stimulated the economic growth of the county, enriched people's spiritual life, and is a vivid interpretation of the practice of Chinese path to modernization.
Before that, there was the "Village BA" in Taijiang, and after that, there was the "Village Super" in Rongjiang, and village level competitions continued to become popular. What will be the next popular "village+?"? We will wait and see.
