"China's rural cultural activities are becoming richer and more exciting"

Cultural revitalization is an important part of rural revitalization, and it also injects vitality into the realization of comprehensive rural revitalization. In recent years, China's rural cultural life has been full of bright spots, with rural cultural and sports activities such as "Village BA" and "Village Super" "out of the circle", intangible cultural heritage displaying cultural heritage, and rural characteristic folk activities...... Through experiencing the colorful cultural life of China's rural areas, international people in China can fully feel the vitality of China's rural culture construction and grassroots public cultural services in the new era.

"The 'Village Super League' is now one of the most popular leagues in China"

"Liubaitang, come on!" Not long ago, the 2024 Guizhou "Village Super" qualifiers officially kicked off in Liubaitang Village, Rongjiang County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture. On the green field on the day of the opening ceremony, the football team of Liubaitang Village and the opponent were engaged in a fierce competition. Meanwhile, Briton David Giri (Chinese name "Ji Weiren") watched the live broadcast on his mobile phone screen in Guiyang, cheering on the team with the cheerleading team of the villagers of Liubaitang Village.

"After that, there will be a ball game in our village, and I will also return to Rongjiang at that time. Changing into a jersey printed with the words "Liubaitang", David Giri proudly told reporters in fluent local dialect, "This is the jersey given by the little friends who played football at the scene of the 'Village Super' last year, and outsiders are not allowed to have it!" From May 2023, Guizhou Rongjiang (Sanbao Dong Village) and the United States Country Football Super League, which are affectionately called "Village Super" by netizens, continue to be popular on the Internet.

"During that time, the circle of friends and short videos were full of 'village super' content. David Giri said it tickled for him, who had loved playing football since he was a child. What makes him even more affectionate is that Rongjiang County is where he lived with his parents before he was 14 years old.

On June 10, 2023, David Giri came to the scene of the "Village Super". Unexpectedly, the Liubaitang Village where the game was played at that time was the village where he lived, and many of the people running on the field were his childhood playmates. "I haven't seen each other for 15 years, and everyone still treats me as a relative. After the game, he hugged the players tightly, just like he used to do every time he played in the village.

"In the past, the village was not rich and there was no special venue, but everyone often played football together, which was very fun. David Giri feels that the football atmosphere in Rongjiang is no worse than in the English countryside. As a former national-level poverty-stricken county, Rongjiang has a long history of developing football, with teams in every village, and men, women and children can play a few feet. In this way, David Giri, who came from the birthplace of modern football, restarted his "football career" in Rongjiang, which has a deep football background.

The high-speed railway from Guiyang to Rongjiang in 1 hour, a brand-new standard football field, and new houses have been built by every household in the village...... Back in Rongjiang again, David Giri found that many places were very different. What fascinated him even more was the national cultural programs such as the reed sheng playing, the Dong song, and the Wang Mu drum that were staged in turn during the halftime break of the "Village Super" competition.

Once upon a time, Rongjiang's colorful minority culture attracted David Giri's parents to study and learn the Kam language. Nowadays, with the help of the "village super" traffic, this "colorful national style" has moved towards a broader international stage.

In December last year, the first project after the "Village Super League" and the English Premier League (English Premier League) reached a strategic cooperation agreement - the "Learning to Premier League" grassroots football coach training project was launched in Rongjiang. "The 'Village Super League' is now one of the most popular leagues in China. David Giri, who accompanied the Premier League delegation, said excitedly that he hoped that the cooperation could bring all-round improvement to the coach training, echelon training and league referee level of the "Village Super League".

"The 'Village Super' allows everyone to participate and come together, and that's what football should look like. David Giri has now settled in Guiyang and coaches the football team at Guizhou University. He said: "Guizhou is home, and I also want to continue to make some contributions to Rongjiang's 'village super' and Guizhou football." ”

"I felt the joy of the villagers from the bottom of my heart"

Holding fists, throwing sleeves, orchid fingers, covering faces, lifting robes, and walking steps...... On the opera stage of Zhongwangxiao Village, Wuyi County, Hebei Province, Nur Isram, a young man from Kyrgyzstan dressed in costumes, learned well under the guidance of Di Xiaoqiang, the inheritor of Haha dialect intangible cultural heritage, and won the applause of the villagers at the scene.

Haha dialect, also known as liuzi tune, drinking and drinking cavity, is a kind of local opera popular in many places in Hebei, and is also one of the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage. In recent years, in order to protect and inherit this intangible cultural heritage, with the help and support of the local government, Di Xiaoqiang led more than 50 farmers to form an amateur troupe, which carries out more than 150 public welfare performances every year, and uses the village stage to promote and inherit the intangible cultural heritage opera culture.

"I've heard for a long time that there's a haha theater troupe here, and I've always wanted to experience it. "Nur Isram, who has worked in Hengshui City, Hebei Province for 5 years, heard that the Haha Dialect Troupe in Zhongwangxiao Village was about to sing again, so he hurriedly invited a few friends to come here to experience and learn.

Nur Isram performed on stage, and the villagers helped with the recording offstage. "The gorgeous clothes, the beautiful looks, the chic movements, and the beautiful singing voice are all amazing!" After the performance, Nur Isram sent the video to his friends back home, "Everyone loved it."

In his spare time, Nur Isram often travels to the surrounding countryside. A few years ago, he participated in the harvest festival in Jiashizhuang Village, Wuyi County, which makes him unforgettable. The scene was filled with all kinds of agricultural products, and the villagers took turns to perform wonderful performances on stage. In the village, the colorful activities of celebrating the harvest, enjoying the harvest, talking about the harvest, basking in the harvest, and racing the harvest made Nur Isram feel a lot of emotion, "I felt the joy of the villagers from the bottom of my heart from these activities."

In 2022, Nur Isram walked into Jiashizhuang Village again, and it was a new experience: the water in the pit pond was cleared, a leisure square was built, and a 200-meter wall of ornamental Great Wall battlements, antique pavilions and promenades were newly built. "The appearance of the village has changed too much. Nur Isram said.

Experience the hardwood carving process with the inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, and experience the traditional folk customs with the villagers...... Over the years, Nur Isram has visited many villages in Hebei Province and experienced and learned different skills such as paper-cutting, Chinese kung fu, calligraphy, opera, and acrobatics. "China's rural cultural activities are becoming richer and more exciting, and people's spiritual outlook is getting better and better. Participating in it, Nur Isram deeply felt the charm of traditional Chinese culture.

"I feel a sense of belonging to the rural culture here"

"What's the trouble, don't trouble ha!" The Nigerian boy Michael (Chinese name "Zhang Wen") responded in the face of the reporter's greetings, showing a shy smile in an authentic Chengdu Pujiang dialect.

Sixteen years ago, Michael was born in Pujiang County, Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Now, he and his brother and sister, as the "three African brothers and sisters", have become the kung fu tea propagandists in Chengjia Town, Pujiang County.

Michael's fate with Kung Fu Tea Art started 7 years ago. In 2017, out of personal interest and his mother's expectations, he apprenticed to Du Deqi, a local tea artist, to learn the long-spouted pot kung fu tea with Chengdu characteristics, "hoping to understand Chinese culture."

In the past two years, during the winter and summer vacations, students come to Miaoyin Community in Chengjia Town, Pujiang County in groups to study, and Michael will seize the opportunity to demonstrate the long-spouted pot Kung Fu Tea on the spot. "The school and the neighborhood committee are places where I often perform, and every time I feel happy and warm. In his opinion, performing is to strengthen communication with local residents, and he is fortunate to have such a "dialogue" method that is closely related to tea culture.

Nowadays, Pujiang County and some villages have increased their support for "grassroots stars", literary and artistic talents, cultural and creative enterprises, etc., and combined with the all-for-one tourism resources to develop intangible cultural heritage research and tourism routes, Michael has become the "promotion ambassador" of Pujiang County's tea culture. "The rural culture here gives me a unique sense of belonging," he says. ”

Michael said that these days, the new tea of Pujiang Peacock Tongue Spring Tea has been launched. He will continue to promote the local tea culture in his spare time, so that more people can understand and like Pujiang. "In recent years, the infrastructure and ecological environment of Pujiang County have been getting better and better, coupled with the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of the village, I like it even more, and I hope to become a Chinese teacher in the future and spread the Chinese and Chinese dialect and culture to further places." ”

(This article was written by People's Daily reporters Huang Xian, Shao Yuzi, Song Haoxin, and Yu Yichuncai; editors: Li Xinyi and Liu Hui)