Home and away

The leagues are also inspiring cultural, economic, and friendship exchanges between cities and regions.

At the beginning of this year, fans from Jiangsu and Hunan provinces, although hundreds of kilometers apart, engaged in warm interactions in and outside the stadiums.

After fans from Jiangsu cities visited Yongzhou and put signs up to cheer for the Yongzhou team, local residents sent large quantities of local specialties, including thousands of boxes of oranges, to thank their new friends.

These grassroots gestures of goodwill, amplified through social media, prompted officials to act.

City governments from both provinces stepped in, forging cross-regional economic cooperation. In late January, a delegation of entrepreneurs and officials from Jiangsu visited Yongzhou, which led to the signing of strategic agreements and the unveiling of an industrial park.

In South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, a county-level soccer league is currently in full swing, boasting 28 teams from 14 cities. As a distinctive feature of the event, host cities actively incorporate local traditions, such as ethnic performances and folk arts, into the match day schedules, turning the soccer field into a lively stage for local cultural presentations.

Before a match between the Lingchuan team from Guilin and the Wuxuan team from Laibin in January, folk songs filled the air in the stadium. As team captains exchanged gifts, the Lingchuan team presented their opponents with regional specialties, including fresh fish, handmade rice balls, and packaged rice noodles.

Outside the stadium, the event turned into a vibrant street carnival. Stalls lined the area, with vendors enthusiastically offering samples and sales of iconic local foods, creating a festive atmosphere and offering a unique match day experience for fans and visitors.