Across China: Foreign diplomats find charm of beautiful county, football in cultural tour

GUIYANG, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) — Under a blue sky and white clouds, beautiful songs drifted out of a drum tower, followed by applause from the watching foreign diplomats.
A total of 24 diplomats from countries including Argentina, South Africa, Mexico, and Cuba visited southwest China’s Guizhou Province from Friday to Sunday, during which time they enjoyed traditional ethnic songs, visited a local craftsmanship workshop and attended a friendly football match with a local amateur team in Rongjiang County.
The event was organized by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Embassy of Argentina in China.
Adorned in silver jewelry and white finery, the women of Dali Dong Village of Rongjiang deeply moved the diplomats with their melodious Dong songs.
“Music plays an important part of the cultural heritage of the two countries, and like the Chinese people, the South African people also love singing,” said South African Ambassador to China Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele, adding that that was why he was delighted to hear these wonderful Dong songs.
Dali Dong Village, with a history of hundreds of years and listed as one of the first batches of traditional villages in China, is nestled among the lush mountains and lucid waters. It is home to over 1,300 Dong villagers living in well-preserved traditional buildings, most of whom are engaged in embroidery and singing Dong songs.
Javier Navarro Quinones, the first secretary of the Embassy of Cuba in Beijing, was seen snapping away with his phone camera as he captured the layered houses, picturesque bridges and the village embroiders. “It looks like a paradise on earth,” said the diplomat, who was in Guizhou for the first time.
The diplomats also visited a traditional batik-making workshop, which, by producing handmade Dong ethnic batik, has generated an annual sales revenue of about 4 million yuan (about 570,000 U.S. dollars), benefiting about 500 villagers nearby.
Navarro said he was impressed by how the villagers have preserved their culture through their own efforts and also found employment right at home, paving the way to prosperity.
On Saturday evening, a football team was formed among the diplomats and they had a friendly match with a local football team called Luohanguo, consisting of local villagers. The Luohanguo team scored two goals in the first half, while the diplomats’ team made a comeback in the second half, resulting in a draw.
Having played the entire match, Navarro described it as a romantic game, the like of which he had never experienced before. He said that the players’ passion, singing and dancing before the game and enthusiastic audience made the whole process wonderful.
The Guizhou Village Super League, also known as “Cun Chao,” was initiated in Rongjiang in 2023 and quickly became a hit in China and globally, making this small county with a population of 385,000 well-known far and wide.
Over the past year, the event helped the county attract more than 11 million visitors, with a total tourism revenue exceeding 13 billion yuan.
Marcelo Suarez Salvia, Ambassador of Argentina to China, who played in the match, said that the audience cheered for both teams, celebrating the friendship between the two sides.
He added that it was also the purpose of the diplomats’ group’s visit to Rongjiang to experience the beauty of football matches and ethnic culture and to make friends with the local people through football. ■