Xinhua News Agency, Hohhot, August 7th Topic: Visiting the “Hometown of Hockey”: The small town once supported half of the national team’s cultural, tourism and sports “integration” to create new opportunities
Xinhua News Agency reporters Zou Jianpu and Ye Ziyan
August in Moridawa is full of sports. A series of events such as the 3rd China Middle School Hockey Championship and the 2022 National Youth U Series Hockey Championship are being held here.
Looking at the teenagers speeding on the court, 66-year-old Meng Huizhen’s eyes are full of shadows of her youth. Excited, he did not forget to keep taking notes with pen and paper. “I’ve been dealing with hockey all my life, and I can’t take time to make a research report for the sports teams to refer to after the game.”
In 1989, the then National Sports Commission named the Moli Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner of Inner Mongolia (hereinafter referred to as “Mo Banner”) as the “Hometown of Hockey”. my country’s first professional hockey team was born here, and Meng Huizhen was one of them. For more than ten years, he accompanied the team to dozens of countries and regions and won many championships in national competitions.
After retiring, Meng Huizhen and his old teammates became coaches, cultivating batches of outstanding hockey players for the country, and many of them also appeared on the stage of the Olympic Games and the Hockey World Cup. For many years, there has been a saying in the industry that “one autonomous flag, half a national team”.
“Moqi’s hockey world has a never-ending tradition of bringing the old to the new. Many of the players I have coached have become excellent coaches after retiring.” Meng Huizhen pointed to the coaches who were directing the players’ games on the side of the court and said, “That’s Meng Jun. , 7 of their group of players who participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics are from Moqi, and they are still shining in the hockey industry.”
On the third match day, Meng Huizhen and a group of “hockey veterans” could no longer hold back their competitive impulse from the depths of their souls. They were over sixty years old and couldn’t help but “swing their sticks against each other”. Sweat like rain again, and make friends with the ball.
China Daur National Park is an important landmark of Moqi. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with lush vegetation and the air is full of the fragrance of flowers and plants. The sculptures and buildings in the park vividly show the history and culture of the Daur people. Visitors can learn about the production, life and rich cultural and sports activities of the Daur people in one stop. The “China Hockey Summer Training Base” in the park has witnessed the growth of batches of hockey talents.
“The traditional hockey competition of the Daur people has a history of thousands of years. The hockey game first completed the transition from tradition to modernity in Moqi, becoming a veritable birthplace of hockey in China, and was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. In the National Park, tourists can enjoy international and domestic competitions without buying tickets, which is also a highlight and feature that attracts them.” Chen Xiaoyu, chairman of Moqi Dawashan Cultural Tourism Investment Co., Ltd., said that the hockey business is booming. At the same time, Moqi is also constantly exploring new models and new business formats, and based on hockey, it has embarked on a road of integrated development of culture, tourism and sports.
Guo Junping, deputy head of the People’s Government of Moqi, told reporters that on the eve of my country’s 14th National Fitness Day, the first Hulunbuir (Molidawa) Hockey Intangible Heritage Inheritance and Cultural, Tourism and Sports Integrated Development Conference was held. Activities such as performances and display of intangible cultural heritage products have attracted a large number of tourists from all over the country to come to play and experience.
“With national hockey competitions as the fulcrum, the promotion of characteristic sports intangible cultural heritage tourism experience activities has formed a new path for the integration of culture, tourism and sports industries to empower local development, and stimulated the self-confidence and pride of people of all ethnic groups.” Tan Hua, secretary of the Moqi Banner Committee, said.