Less than 30 minutes before lunchtime, six Chinese villagers playing basketball can be seen concentrating on a tense three-on-three matchup amid spontaneous bursts of applause. The players, along with fascinated spectators, are locals in Gezhuang village, Suning county in north China's Hebei province. Almost everyone in 1,700-resident Gezhuang, from 7-year-old kids to seniors in their 70s, can play basketball, Li Haibo, the village chief, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The beginnings of basketball in Gezhuang

Gezhuang's basketball story began as early as 1973, when a primary schoolteacher working there assembled a team with his pupils.