(Sports Focus) Hoops give hopes to poor Chinese villages (updated)

In Butai Village, a mountainous Chinese hamlet that happens to sit on one of the most uninhabitable places on earth, basketball is one of few fun things to do - or watch.

Villagers don't fall for China's Central Television's New Year gala, though tuned in by around 690 million people this year as the most watched TV show in the world, simply because not every family owns a TV set.

Instead, they played or watched eight days of basketball during this Lunar New Year Festival - on two pairs of boards borrowed from a village 10 kilometers away.

"The village committee didn't have boards or new balls. Over 30 people borrowed and carried a pair of basketball stands from another village," said Tian Xifu, the village chief.

"Villagers put up basketball stands and donated new balls. Then with the help of a few well-off villagers who do business in town, the tournament became a reality."

The village of 3,500 farmers and herders saw spectators swell to 6,000, with many coming from as far as 200 kilometers away.

"Organizing an eight-day tournament isn't easy," said Tian. "I am so proud we did it. I am really glad that we put smiles on a lot of faces."

Just like in Butai, basketball is the most popular sport in other 164 villages in Haiyuan County, one of seven "state-level poverty-stricken counties" named by the State Council, in Xihaigu region of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Xihaigu, notorious for poor soil and scarce water, is on UNESCO's list of the world's most uninhabitable places.

To the surprise of many, the Butai tournament also featured foreign players.

Mbaye Cheikh, 29, visited the village for the first time, with fellow Sengalese and teammates Ndiaye Soueybou and Diagne Thiernosn. Their slam dunks and alley-oops aroused cheers and applause from a zealous crowd.

"I couldn't believe that there are so many basketball enthusiasts in a remote and poor village," said Cheikh, who plays for a Guangxi club in south China.

"We've heard that basketball is very popular in these villages. So we came here to participate, and I really feel the farmers' enthusiasm for the game," he added.

"It is really something new to invite foreign players to village games. I am expecting more friends from the world to come here," said Tian Xixin, a cattle herder and the major sponsor to the tournament.

"About 100 villagers involved in keeping order and people even climbed to roofs to have a better view of the game."

Tian Xifu, the village head who has been playing basketball for a decade, told reporters that this game has "magic".

"I used to pull young people away from gambling tables," he said. "Since basketball has taken root here, they choose playing basketball instead of gambling."

Dabeishan Village, the driest village in Xihaigu, is as enthusiastic about basketball as Butai.

"I feel completely refreshed after playing basketball," said Li Hucheng, a 60year-old farmer. "I am getting along even better with villagers with the help of the game."

A poverty-relief program built two basketball venues and a set of fitness equipment in Dabeishan, which, once called "a place where oil is more expensive than water", didn't have tap water until June 2014.

"As the living standard for rural people is rising, their enthusiasm for sports is also growing," said Gao Wenxue, Dabeishan chief.

Gao recalled problems he used to encounter in previous new year festivals.

"In the village of 4,800 people, two thirds of them are migrant workers, who only come home for a few days every year, and gambling was rampant at one time," Guo said.

"I used to handle several fights in a single day during the spring festival. But now, I am free, freed by basketball."

Villagers now spend most of their leisure time on basketball instead of Mahjong table. "I don't have to worry about gambling and brawling anymore," said the village chief.

"We invited neighboring villagers to friendly matches," said Ma Jianxue, a 40-year-old farmer. "Our team is good, especially teamwork."

Zhang Shilin, a town chief who governs a few villages, said sports has been changing life.

"Rural people are increasingly active in sports and building health," said Zhang. "Life is changing." Endi