"Village Super League," known in Chinese as cunchao, became a phenomenon in China in 2023. Cunchao, a grassroots soccer tournament, was held in Rongjiang, a county in Southwest China's Guizhou Province, between May and July. Twenty teams, representing villages, competed on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at a stadium in the county seat. 

During cunchao, video clips of the matches were posted online, and they went viral. During the past year, cunchao-related content had more than 58 billion (combined) views. Cunchao not only showcased the passion and skills of the soccer enthusiasts in Rongjiang, but also demonstrated their unity and teamwork on the field. 

Rongjiang has a population of 385,000, and more than 50,000 of its people are soccer enthusiasts. The county has more than 30 soccer teams, and more than 1,000 registered players. Local residents organize matches during important festivals, and they enjoy playing soccer in their spare time. 

Xu Bo, mayor of Rongjiang, said in an interview the popularity of cunchao was a miracle created by Rongjiang's people, and the local government. 

When the county's government announced its plan to organize cunchao in early 2023, the locals showed great support. They organized the teams, and they participated in the formulation of match schedules, rules and programs. The government provided the venues, electricity, communications, security and sanitation services. The players were from all walks of life, and they included farmers, vendors, small business owners, construction workers and excavator drivers.

The vibrant displays of ethnic cultures and traditions during the tournament set cunchao apart from other sports events. 

Rongjiang is home to over 20 ethnic groups, and over 80 percent of the county's residents are from ethnic minority groups. 

As the players walked onto the field for each game, they were accompanied by their cheer squads. The cheerleaders were dressed in their traditional ethnic costumes, and they carried local specialties, such as glutinous rice, cured fish and other distinctive products. 

The halftime break of each game featured folk songs and dance performances, and the players' ethnic costumes were on display. Spectators even joined the dancers on the field, which created a festive atmosphere of celebration and unity. Outside the stadium, hundreds of stalls operated until late at night, offering local cuisine to visitors. 

On July 29, 2023, about 200,000 people flocked to Rongjiang to watch the final match of cunchao. 

Cunchao has boosted Rongjiang's tourism, catering, accommodation, cultural and creative sectors. 

According to the county's government, Rongjiang welcomed more than 1 million tourists in May 2023, up 39.73 percent year on year. The county's tourism income in May reached 1.24 billion yuan (US $174 million), up 52.08 percent year on year. 

Rongjiang's residents have benefited from the business opportunities created by cunchao. 

Zhang Zhenfei, who was born in the 1980s and who is a native of Rongjiang, operates a fern- and rattan-woven products business in her hometown. Zhang used her new-media account to showcase cunchao matches. The livestreaming brought her more fans, and the sales of her woven products multiplied. Before cunchao was held, she earned a profit of about 10,000 yuan (US $1,408) by selling rattan-woven products through livestreaming each month. Now, she is able to earn nearly 30,000 yuan (US $4,225) each month. 

Xiong Zhuqing, a woman who lives in Fengle, a village in Rongjiang, became famous because of the way she supported her village's team during cunchao. Xiong sold homegrown watermelons near the stadium during the matches, and she sometimes provided free watermelons for spectators to eat during halftime when her village's team was competing. After she became an online celebrity, her watermelons sold out, on online platforms, in a short time. What's more, Xiong helped other growers sell more than 150,000 kilograms of watermelons. 

In recent years, Rongjiang's government developed a plan to advance rural revitalization through a new-mediabased economy. It has trained more than 35,000 new-media talents, and it organized some 2,200 livestreaming teams. 

The government hoped new media would help promote Rongjiang's specialties and ethnic cultures to the world. Since 2021, the government has planned five branding activities. However, none of those activities have achieved the desired result. 

"Cunchao, which combines local soccer traditions with diverse ethnic cultures, is the right approach we had been looking for to suit the local comparative advantage," Xu said. 

During cunchao, 12,000-something Rongjiang-based, new-media accounts, and the local livestreaming teams, played their roles in promoting the matches online. Several Chinese sports and entertainment celebrities watched the matches in the stadium, and some performed during the matches. The celebrities helped increase the popularity of the event. 

Cunchao has evolved into its own culture, and it has become part of people's daily lives in Rongjiang. Xu Feng, a researcher with Guizhou Academy of Social Sciences, said village-level sports events, like cunchao, have unique value in representing and promoting China's rural culture to the world. "Although such events involve simple villagers and grassroots matches, and the prizes for winners are not luxurious, their exciting atmosphere is attractive to foreigners," he says.

Photos from VCG

(Women of China English Monthly January 2024)