On the afternoon of Saturday, December 6, several people were chatting and laughing while playing basketball on the court of DachiKan Primary School in Doumen Town, Doumen District.
Li Rongfeng, 27, jumped up to shoot and sank a long-distance three-pointer… Everyone dribbled, broke through, or grabbed rebounds, having a great time.
They are members of the DachiKan Village basketball team and have been childhood friends who grew up playing basketball together, gathering to play ball back in the village on weekends.
On the evening of November 2, in the Doumen District final of the 2025 Zhuhai “Hundred Counties, Thousand Towns, Ten Thousand Villages” Series of Competitions – Ten Thousand Villages Basketball Tournament (Village BA), the DachiKan Village basketball team defeated the defending champion Nanmen Village basketball team to claim the Doumen “Village BA” title; in the Zhuhai municipal-level “Village BA” event, the team finished fourth.
As the team’s main player, Li Rongfeng was named MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the Doumen “Village BA”. “Kobe is my idol,” Li Rongfeng admitted. “I used to envy the uncles and elder brothers playing in village games, and now it’s finally my turn.” He happily noted that the basketball heritage of DachiKan Village has been passed down from generation to generation.
“Whenever the brothers call, I’ll come back to the village to play ball.” Zhao Zhengliang, 25, who works in Jing’an on weekdays, never misses a basketball gathering.
Five-year-old Zhao Qianrui tried hard to dribble and shoot the ball. Even though he only tossed it a tiny distance upward, he still received praise from the team members and his mother nearby. “My son has loved basketball since he was little. I take him to watch games in Doumen District and Zhuhai,” said Zhao Weijie, who grabbed a rebound and quickly handed the ball to his son to let him play with it.
“Uncle Zhao, still as sharp as ever!” Zhao Qinhua, 53, made a smooth fadeaway jumper and earned compliments. Zhao Qinhua is a member of the Party Committee and Director of Production of DachiKan Village, having been re-elected for three terms and known as the “know-it-all” of the village. “In my era, my favorite basketball star was Jordan, and I used to practice this shooting move all the time.”
From 53-year-old Zhao Qinhua to 27-year-old Li Rongfeng and then to 5-year-old Zhao Qianrui… It can be said that basketball has become the “village passion” shared by the entire village across generations.
This “village passion” in DachiKan Village has a long history.
In front of DachiKan Feizai Qiang Roast Meat Restaurant stands an aged basketball court. “This used to be a muddy field, which was leveled to show movies,” Zhao Qinhua explained. “Located in the center of DachiKan Village, this plot is a prime location, and it would be a waste to only use it for movies. So this basketball court was built in the early 1980s.”
With a basketball court came basketball games. Starting in 1985, DachiKan Village has held an annual men’s basketball open tournament during the Spring Festival, a tradition that continued until 2019. During this period, village-level leagues were also organized, with 11 team groups from across the village participating – making it arguably Zhuhai’s earliest “Village BA”.
The basketball open tournament kicks off on the first day of the Lunar New Year and runs until the sixth day. There are no top-tier professional players, only shining “village stars” – local farmers, migrant workers returning home for the New Year, college students on winter vacation… Driven by their love for basketball and deep affection for their hometown, they compete fiercely on the court and savor the joy brought by sports events. “Back then, the basketball court was surrounded by three layers of spectators, and villagers even stood on the roofs of nearby buildings; it was extremely popular!” Zhao Qinhua recalled, adding that over the years, this event has become the most distinctive cultural and sports activity in DachiKan Village.
With basketball games as the core, the number and quality of cultural and sports activities in DachiKan Village have further developed. The village has organized karaoke singing competitions, square dance performances, hometown scholar Cantonese opera shows, fireworks displays, and Double Ninth Festival performances, greatly enriching villagers’ cultural lives and promoting the construction of a civilized rural style. “These long-term cultural and sports activities have enhanced villagers’ cohesion, forged the village spirit, and are directly reflected in the unity of public opinion. In advancing the ‘Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Project’, villagers fully support the village’s decisions, are willing to think from the perspective of the entire village, and actively participate – contributing money and effort as they can,” a relevant person in charge of the DachiKan Village Party Committee stated. “It can be said that as a sports event, basketball brings happiness to the whole village; as a platform, it has effectively strengthened communication between villagers and the village committee, uniting everyone’s efforts. Villagers have been highly cooperative and proactive in building a livable, business-friendly, and harmonious countryside, boosting the development of the village collective economy and increasing villagers’ income and prosperity.”
With everyone working toward the same goal, the united will of the villagers has become a strong grassroots driving force, which is one of the key factors behind the achievements of DachiKan Village in the “Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Project”. In recent years, the DachiKan Village Party Committee has united and led villagers to overcome difficulties and forge ahead, achieving phased results in economic development, social livelihoods, ecological protection, and grassroots governance. The village’s appearance has taken on a new look, and the quality of villagers’ lives has steadily improved. In 2024, the collective economic income of DachiKan Village reached 3.23 million yuan, realizing steady growth. The village has successively been awarded titles such as Advanced Unit for Standardized Construction of Zhuhai Urban-Rural Integration Household Survey Sites, Model Unit for Zhuhai Silver Age Health Action, and Civilized Village and Town of Zhuhai.
“The village plans to resume the men’s basketball open tournament that has been held for 34 years. Taking basketball games as the starting point, we will vigorously develop characteristic competitive projects such as DachiKan barbecued pork ribs, chicken cookies, madder grass Macrobrachium rosenbergii, and ‘Chikan Has Rice’. We will further increase tourist flow through agriculture, culture, and tourism activities to boost the economic development of DachiKan Village,” a relevant person in charge of the DachiKan Village Party Committee said.
Reporter’s Notes>>>
Located at the foot of Huangyang Mountain, DachiKan Village has a history of over 700 years. It is not surprising that a few people in the village like basketball, nor is it unusual for a group to love it – but for the entire village to embrace basketball is truly remarkable. With a 34-year-old village men’s basketball open tournament and Zhuhai’s earliest “Village BA” events… This hometown basketball atmosphere has brought simple joy and tangible happiness to villagers, making it a signature activity of DachiKan Village.
It can be said that such signature cultural and sports activities have enhanced villagers’ cohesion, forged the village spirit, and are directly reflected in the unity of public opinion. In advancing the “Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Project”, villagers have pulled together as one, offering high cooperation and active participation in building a livable, business-friendly, and harmonious countryside, helping the project achieve tangible results.
DachiKan Village Profile>>>
DachiKan Village enjoys a superior geographical location as a vital thoroughfare connecting Doumen Town and Lianzhou Town, with a total of 1,467 households and 6,612 residents. The village falls within a national first-class water resource protection zone, and industrial development is restricted by policies. To address this, DachiKan Village has explored a new path for industrial revitalization based on local conditions, developing characteristic agricultural planting and breeding industries. It has launched the “Chikan Has Rice” project, collaborating with four cooperatives to strengthen technical guidance for rice cultivation, and increased product added value through e-commerce platforms and agricultural product fairs, boosting farmers’ income. DachiKan Village has promoted smart elderly care services, applying for high-age allowances for elderly residents over 80 years old and updating its archive database in real time. In recent years, through environmental improvement, sewage treatment, tree planting, road maintenance, and river dredging, the village has built a green and beautiful countryside, driving the success of the “Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Project”.
