Cultural performance at the closing ceremony. (Photo by Xiang Hui)
On the evening of August 27, the Dadi Liucai · 2025 National Village Basketball Tournament (Village BA) Southern Division concluded at Xiaoping Town, Chenxi County. Liu Yiping, first-level inspector of the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, attended the closing ceremony. Niu Shunsheng, chairman of the CPPCC Huaihua Municipal Committee, declared the event closed. Hu Chen, member of the Municipal Party Committee and minister of the Municipal Publicity Department, and Zhou Zhongyan, vice mayor of Huaihua City, also attended.
Eighteen teams from 10 provinces and regions, including Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Guizhou, and Yunnan, battled across eight days, delivering 44 exhilarating matches for spectators. In the end, the Jinjiang team from Fujian claimed the Southern Division title and, together with the Nanhai (Guangdong), Chenxi (Hunan), Zhuji (Zhejiang), and Liuyang (Hunan) teams, advanced to the national finals.
A rich lineup of complementary activities ran alongside the competition. Village market showcased high-quality agricultural products, local delicacies, and traditional handicrafts, while village arts programs vividly presented folk customs and intangible cultural heritage. By creating a series of grassroots, crowd-attracting, village-themed cultural and sports events, the national Village BA has rooted the tournament in the countryside, hosting events in villages, bringing resources into villages, and boosting rural consumption.
As the host of the Southern Division, Chenxi County is the first officially-recognized “County of Basketball” in Hunan Province and hosted the Hunan Village BA finals in 2023 and 2024. Taking the advantage of hosting the national Village BA and the influence of the Fifth Hunan Tourism Development Conference, Chenxi has been actively exploring new pathways to promote rural governance and economic development.
Liu Yiping and Niu Shunsheng presented awards to the champion teams. The village basketball torch from Aiguo Village in Xiaoping Town was passed on to the host for the Central Division, namely Xiaomo Village in Gaoleshan Town, Xianfeng County, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei.
The event was guided by the Department of Rural Social Services of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Mass Sports Department of the General Administration of Sport. It was jointly hosted by the Chinese Farmer Physical Culture Association, the Mass Sports Department of the All-China Sports Federation, the Hunan Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Hunan Sports Bureau, and the CPC Huaihua Municipal Committee and Huaihua Municipal People’s Government, with technical support from the Chinese Basketball Association.
(Translated by Yang Hong)