The cultural and tourism market is booming, with bustling activity in both urban and rural areas. "Tradition and modernity blend seamlessly, allowing Chinese culture to shine even brighter." President Xi Jinping's praise in his 2026 New Year's address on December 31, 2025, once again ignited excitement on the green fields of Rongjiang County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province.
On January 2nd, the 4th Guizhou "Village Super League" officially kicked off in Rongjiang. At the opening ceremony, 137 village-level teams, dressed in costumes of various ethnic groups and carrying local specialties, arrived with songs and dances. The stitches of Miao embroidery shone with the brilliance of intangible cultural heritage, and the melody of Dong folk songs echoed in the air above the stadium.
From 20 teams in the first edition to 137 teams today, from a grassroots county-level competition to a national cultural extravaganza, the growth trajectory of "Village Super" is also a vivid example of Rongjiang County's efforts as one of the first national pilot areas for common modernization, focusing on strengthening the sense of community of the Chinese nation and promoting industrial integration, improvement of people's livelihoods, and mutually reinforcing development.
Green Field Gathers Energy:
Working together to ignite the flame of common prosperity
The magic of "Village Super League" lies in the fact that it has transformed football from a simple sporting competition into a spiritual bond that unites people of all ethnic groups.
Rongjiang County is home to multiple ethnic groups, including Han, Miao, Dong, and Shui, and has a history of playing football for over 80 years. In the 1990s, villagers built simple football fields on the riverside grasslands, where people of different ethnicities could hone their skills and strengthen their bonds. In recent years, Rongjiang County has integrated football into its efforts to promote ethnic unity and progress, and to foster cultural exchange through tourism, transforming "village football fields" into a cultural platform for all ethnic groups to enjoy together.
At the opening ceremony of the 4th Guizhou "Village Super League", Miao people's Lusheng dance, Dong people's welcoming wine, and Shui people's bronze drum dance were performed in turn. The team logos of the 137 teams brought together cultural elements of various ethnic groups - some incorporated the shape of Miao stilted houses, some adopted the pattern of Dong drum towers, and some were decorated with Shui horsehair embroidery patterns. Each team logo is a concrete expression of cultural inheritance.
Data testifies to the development dividends brought about by ethnic unity. Since the first "Village Supermarket" event was held in 2023, Rongjiang has received over 26 million tourists, generating nearly 30 billion yuan in tourism revenue and adding 9,270 new market entities. The county's collective village economic income jumped from 58.9 million yuan in 2022 to 121 million yuan in 2024.
Behind this is the unique revenue distribution mechanism of "Village Supermarket"—51% of the brand revenue is returned to the collective economy of 250 villages in the county, and 49% is used for rural sports public welfare undertakings, so that people of all ethnic groups can share the development dividends and truly achieve "participation and benefit for all".
Industry empowerment:
Traffic Activates County Economy
"The 'Village Super League' is not just a football tournament, but also an important exploration of rural revitalization and an attempt to effectively drive industrial development through sports activities." Xu Bo, Secretary of the Rongjiang County Party Committee, revealed the core secret to the success of the "Village Super League" in his speech at Tsinghua University.
In recent years, Rongjiang County has actively explored institutional mechanisms to promote high-quality development in ethnic minority areas, transforming the flow of "village-to-supermarket" industries into incremental growth in the county's economy and promoting the comprehensive integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries.
Focusing on the integration of agriculture, culture, sports, tourism, and commerce, Rongjiang has built a distinctive industrial system. In the agricultural sector, the local government practices the concept of "turning mobile phones into new farming tools, data into new agricultural inputs, and live streaming into new farming activities," cultivating a group of "new farmers" who understand technology and are skilled in live streaming. In 2025, Rongjiang identified and cultivated 53 live-streaming hosts, held 191 short video and live-streaming sales events, and achieved online retail sales of 189 million yuan from January to November.
The intangible cultural heritage industry is being revitalized under the impetus of the "Village Supermarket" platform. Shi Benran, an inheritor of Dong embroidery, used to be worried because of the narrow sales channels. Now, her embroidery products are reaching the whole country with the help of the "Village Supermarket" platform. "Now that the sales channels for my products have been opened up, there is always work to be done right at my doorstep," Shi Benran said with a big smile.
Currently, Rongjiang County has cultivated 12 key cultural and creative enterprises, developing over 200 kinds of intangible cultural heritage creative products such as clothing, dolls, and souvenirs, as well as "village-to-supermarket" derivative products, with sales reaching 24 million yuan since 2023. Traditional techniques such as Miao silver ornaments and Dong batik are combined with modern design concepts, becoming hot-selling products sought after by tourists.
In 2025, Rongjiang proactively connected with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area market, building a bridgehead for the integrated development of agriculture, culture, sports, tourism, and commerce in Guizhou Province towards the Greater Bay Area. Through brand co-branding, public welfare authorization, and other means, it collaborated with enterprises in the Greater Bay Area to create 31 co-branded "village-supermarket" products, realizing the industrial chain upgrade of "Guizhou Brand, Greater Bay Area Manufacturing" and promoting the development of industries towards high-end and large-scale development.
Culture shapes the soul:
Nourishing the roots of national unity
Rongjiang County deeply understands the power of culture and, in the process of running the "village-supermarket" initiative, comprehensively promotes the construction of a shared spiritual home for the Chinese nation, thus凝聚起共同现代化的强大精神力量 (凝聚起共同现代化的强大精神力量 - this phrase is a bit awkward in English, but it can be left as is).
Behind the "village flavor" of the "Village Super" lies the deep integration of various ethnic cultures. The competition prizes consistently use local specialties such as small fragrant chickens, small fragrant lambs, and fruits, showcasing both the simplicity of agricultural civilization and the wisdom of shared life among different ethnic groups. Between matches, spontaneously organized intangible cultural heritage performances by people of various ethnic groups are a must-see. A total of 79,000 people have participated in over 620 intangible cultural heritage programs, including Dong folk songs, Miao flying songs, and Shui bronze drum dances, making the "Village Super" stadium a super stage for showcasing outstanding traditional Chinese culture.
The integration of culture makes shared modernization more humane. In 2025, Rongjiang will integrate the promotion and popularization of the national common language and script into its "Village Supermarket" initiative. In the organization of "Village Supermarket" events, volunteer services, and live-streaming e-commerce, the national common language will serve as a bridge for communication among people of all ethnic groups. Through the construction of museums and the compilation of book series, the initiative will promote the innovative inheritance, exchange, and mutual learning of outstanding traditional cultures of all ethnic groups, forming a cultural ecosystem where "each culture is beautiful in its own way, and all cultures are beautiful together."
With the continuous expansion of international exchanges, "Village Super League" has become an important window for spreading Chinese culture and promoting mutual learning among civilizations. To date, football enthusiasts from more than 50 countries have come to Rongjiang Stadium to exchange and learn from each other. Rongjiang is actively planning to build a "Belt and Road" "Village Super League" World Cup Football Culture Town, carry out "Learn from the English Premier League" training for grassroots football coaches, and create a special zone for rural football in China.
Moving Forward Together Towards Common Prosperity:
Continue to consolidate the achievements of common modernization
Rewind to 2022, Rongjiang's economic growth rate was only 2.7%, its industrial base was weak, and it suffered from a severe outflow of young and middle-aged people. In just a few years, the county's economic and social development has achieved a qualitative leap. Rongjiang County, taking the national pilot project for common modernization as its starting point, has deeply explored the comprehensive value of "village-to-super" development, propelling all ethnic groups forward on the road to common prosperity.
The continuous improvement of people's well-being is the most direct manifestation of common modernization. "Village supermarkets" have created over 10,000 flexible jobs, and people of all ethnic groups have increased their income through various means such as participating in sports teams, cheerleading squads, running homestays, and selling agricultural products, with farmers seeing an average increase in income of over 10,000 yuan per household. Xiong Zhuqing, a relocated resident, has seen her fruit business flourish thanks to the increased customer traffic brought by "village supermarkets."
The positive interaction between ecological protection and economic development makes common modernization more sustainable. Rongjiang County has always adhered to the ecological bottom line, making green the foundation of high-quality development. It has diligently carried out river management and waste sorting, developed eco-tourism routes, and combined the pastoral scenery and ancient village features of Miao and Dong villages with the "village-supermarket" brand resources, achieving a unity of ecological and economic benefits. Today, Rongjiang is surrounded by green mountains and clear rivers, where people of all ethnic groups live and work in a beautiful ecological environment, truly realizing the goal of "both gold and silver mountains and green mountains and clear waters."
2026 marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan and is also a crucial year for Rongjiang's common modernization. With the fourth "Village Super League" in full swing, Rongjiang is moving towards its goal of becoming a "world-class sports tourism destination": plans include establishing the "Belt and Road" "Village Super League" International Friendship Match, forming the "China Village Super League Team" to prepare for the 2028 Village Super League World Cup, and ensuring that the "Village Super League" brand continues to radiate new vitality.
On the green field, players from all ethnic groups run side by side, striving hard; between villages, cultures blend and friendships deepen; in industrial development, they cooperate and create win-win situations. "We will continue to focus on strengthening the sense of community of the Chinese nation, using football as a medium, culture as a bridge, and industry as the foundation to deepen the integrated development of agriculture, culture, sports, tourism, and commerce, improve the benefit-sharing mechanism, and ensure that people of all ethnic groups are not left behind on the road to common modernization, contributing the county's strength to the comprehensive advancement of building a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization," said a relevant official from Rongjiang County.
Source: China Ethnic News
