【推荐1】Hotels are full, local specialties are nearly sold out, tourists came in droves from all parts of China…Rongjiang, a small county in a remote mountainous area with a population of less than 400,000 in Southwest China, has recently gone viral for its “Village Super League”, creating a spectacular sports carnival in China.

Every week, more than 40,000 audiences flock to the stadium for the “Village Super League”. As of the end of June, 2023, the tournament has had more than 20 billion views on the Internet.

During a match in May, Wu Chuguo, a decoration worker from Liubaitang village, Rongjiang County, scored a spectacular 40-meter goal that ignited the crowd. Wu said he was influenced by elders in his village and fell in love with the sport. In the county, rural soccer matches have taken place regularly since the 1990s. When there was a lack of facilities, soccer players used barren land as a field and wooden stakes for the posts. The boundaries were marked out with lime powder. When they can’t gather enough players, they play futsal, a soccer-based game played on a smaller hard court.

In recent years, the county has focused on gymnastics, soccer, rock climbing and other sports, which has developed outstanding national and provincial-level sporting talent. What sets the Village Super League apart from other sports events are the vibrant displays of ethnic cultures and traditions at the tournament. As players of both teams walk on the field for a game, they are accompanied by their cheering squads(啦啦队)dressed in traditional ethnic costumes and carrying local specialties. The halftime break features folk songs and dance performances, while ethnic costumes are also on display.

“I hope that more and more tourists will come to Rongjiang to watch the matches, enjoy the folk customs and local cuisine, and have fun,” said Xiong Zhuqing, a melon grower who is also a cheerleader. She says she has sold over 10,000 kilograms of watermelons since the start of the tournament. As of June 27, a total of 654 new businesses were established, including 91 in the catering sector, 188 in retail, and 195 in agriculture and food processing, the local government said.

By combining tourism with sports, Rongjiang has found a creative and meaningful way to promote rural vitalization(振兴)and rural economic growth.

【推荐2】Sportsmanship isn’t just about shaking hands after the game. It’s about helping young athletes enjoy the spirit of competition, deal with adversity.     1    

Character is a word that gets used often, but its true meaning may be hard to explain to a young mind.     2     By raising standards early, an athlete can both give and expect mutual respect during their course of competition.

One way to teach the idea of sportsmanship is to let the athlete know that they should do their personal best and to treat teammates and opponents in the same fashion they wish to be treated.     3     It also helps them off the field as well.

It’s important to the young athlete to understand that for as many victories as they hope to have, they must face losing if they’re going to play their sport. An effective method is to have a young athlete pick out well-known popular athletes, particularly in their sport or sports of interest, and look up their statistics.     4    

    5     Practice and skill building should be offset by times of goofing off (偷懒), perhaps practicing with crazy costumes or with fun music, and not coaching in the traditional sense. This one little thing can do wonders in reminding the athlete not to take anything too seriously and to have fun doing what they have chosen to participate in.

【推荐2】“Can we look at the school supplies while we’re here?” my daughter, Julia, asked during a trip to the store. My favorite school-supply item is the daily planner because I struggle with organization. I always dream that the perfect planner will somehow cure me of my delay and turn my life into a paradise (乐园) of order and productivity.

The list of habits I wanted to develop was long. Exercising regularly. Drinking more water. Clearing a junk drawer or closet each week. Reading more books and watching less TV. Delaying less on work deadlines. Spending more time with each of my kids and reaching out to family and friends more often. Making special meals, and doing other things to make my loved ones feel loved.

Over the next few days, I was able to check off several items on my habit tracker. I was pleased with the progress, but I hadn’t done much with the habits intended to improve my relationships with others. I tried to put more focus on those habits.

One morning, I opened my planner and realized that it was Julia’s. The first task was “Write in my gratitude journal.” The second one was “Do something nice for someone else.” Julia was a busy college student. How did she find time to keep a journal and do random acts of kindness? When I asked her about it, she said, “Those two habits go together. Writing in my gratitude journal makes me want to do nice things for other people.”

“What a wonderful thing to do!” I said, “I love that your gratitude fuels your acts of kindness.” I took a plain notebook and wrote, “I’m thankful for...” I prepared my husband’s favorite dinner, sent an encouraging text to a friend, and baked another batch of cookies for Julia to share with her friends.