On August 18th, Aaron Gordon’s championship tour in China began, and its first stop was at the Wanda Plaza in Dongcheng, Dongguan. As a powerful forward in the NBA, Aaron Gordon is well-known in the league for his explosive dunks in his early years. After joining the Denver Nuggets, Aaron Gordon became a crucial team member, playing a vital role in the team’s journey to the championship.
At the event, Aaron Gordon watched the lion dance performance, interacted with fans, and shared his experience and insights on dunking. After visiting Dongguan, Aaron Gordon will visit Changsha, Chengdu, Xi’an, Zhengzhou, Shijiazhuang, and Beijing in the upcoming journey.
Why did Aaron Gordon choose Dongguan, a second-tier city in Guangdong, as the first stop of his China tour this year? It all starts with the strong basketball atmosphere in Dongguan.
“When it comes to basketball in China, one must think of Dongguan, Guangdong.” Dongguan, the home of the CBA team of 11 championships, Guangdong South China Tiger Club, has cultivated a large number of Chinese basketball stars such as Yi Jianlian, Zhu Fangyu, Du Feng, Wang Shipeng, Hu Mingxuan, and Xu Jie. Group and group of basketball talents gather here, playing basketball and settling down in Dongguan, fighting for this city.
Basketball is becoming increasingly popular, as evidenced by the flourishing professional basketball clubs in Dongguan and the burgeoning basketball industry. There are more than 6,600 basketball courts in Dongguan, which has a land area of 2,460 square kilometers. Basketball is well-known and adored in Dongguan. People in Dongguan love the joy that basketball brings, regardless of whether the court is professional or amateur, whether it is at the Guangdong team’s home court, the Dongguan Basketball Center, or the courts in villages in Changping, Humen, and Machong. Urban culture in Dongguan has always been heavily influenced by basketball culture.
Li Yuanwei, former executive vice chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, once said in an interview: “If you want to truly understand China and Chinese basketball, you must go to Dongguan to have a look.” Dongguan has the best professional basketball clubs and grassroots leagues in the country, where they promote each other and improve together. Almost every citizen of Dongguan can find a sense of identity in this city through basketball. That is the significance of basketball to Dongguan.
.
.
.
.
.
