2025 "Qingxi Cup" National Minigolf Championship Concludes Successfully: Integration of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Writes a New Chapter for Sports Empowering Rural Revitalization
Justin Lee
Bathed in the warm autumn sun and the soothing fragrance of osmanthus, the two-day 2025 "Qingxi Cup" National Minigolf Championship successfully concluded on October 2 in Qingxi Village, Heshan District, Yiyang City, Hunan Province. The inaugural championship brought together 14 teams from six provinces and municipalities across the country. Featuring both team and individual stroke-play competitions, the event infused new vitality into rural revitalization through the integrated model of "Sports + Culture and Tourism."
Qingxi Village in Yiyang City, Hunan Province, is the hometown of modern writer Zhou Libo and served as the prototype for his novel Great Changes in a Mountain Village. Leveraging the power of literature, Qingxi Village has transformed its landscape, delighting residents and attracting visitors from afar, offering a vivid example of how literature can drive rural revitalization. Today, building upon this fertile literary ground, the village is harnessing the power of sports and the concept of national fitness, allowing the vision of "integrating culture, sports, and tourism" to take root and flourish. During the National Day holiday, Qingxi Village launched a series of themed activities that showcased local characteristics. Beyond the national minigolf championship, these included lawn concerts, immersive performances, parent-child activities at book houses, special exhibitions at the collection hall, and festive events at Zhou Libo's former residence. These offerings allowed visitors to experience a poetic holiday amidst the rice fields, on the competition grounds, inside book houses, and on the lawns, fully appreciating the charm of Qingxi Village.
The event received unanimous praise from professional referees and athletes for its competition design and overall experience. Chief referee Shen Jianxin noted that the 18 standard holes on the course were each ingeniously designed. A steep slope track with a 30-degree incline tested players' precision, while an "S-shaped" winding track with consecutive turns challenged their shot-making skills. Players needed to flexibly adjust their club selection and strategy based on the terrain of each hole, making the competition both intensely competitive and highly entertaining and spectator-friendly.
"It's my first time playing minigolf surrounded by the scent of osmanthus; even the air is sweet," said Wei Zichun, a young player from the Hubei team, with excitement. On the fairways filled with the fragrance of osmanthus, the white ball sometimes found the hole with precision, eliciting cheers, and other times navigated clever turns, creating suspense. "The scenery here is beautiful, the people are warm, and I've made many like-minded friends. It's been a truly rewarding experience," said Hou Zhankai, captain of the Kunshan team, after the competition. Blending sporting passion with pastoral charm, the event added a vibrant festive atmosphere to Qingxi Village's National Day holiday, enriched the experience for tourists, and allowed participants of all ages and backgrounds to fully appreciate the joy of sports and the meaning of travel. "How could one know the osmanthus of the southern hills, with green leaves hanging from fragrant roots?" Accompanied by Li Bai's Ode to the Osmanthus, strolling across a grassy lawn amidst Qingxi's landscape, learning the story of the great changes in the mountain village, and experiencing the combined joys of nature, culture, and minigolf made this competition an unforgettable memory for all.
After intense competition, the Kunshan City Migao Team won the team championship, the Suzhou City Migao Team placed second, and the Hunan Golf and Tourism College Migao Team secured third place. The host team, the Yiyang City Migao Team, delivered a strong performance, finishing fourth. In the individual events, Li Jiasheng from Shenzhen won the women's title, and Li Chuang from Kunshan won the men's title.
The event was hosted by the Social Sports Guidance Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, co-organized by the China Minigolf Sport Promotion Committee (CMPC), the Yiyang Culture, Tourism, Radio, Television, and Sports Bureau, and the People's Government of Heshan District, Yiyang City. It was implemented by units including the People's Government of Xielingang Town, Heshan District, Yiyang City, and Hunan Qingxi Cultural Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd. This collaboration established a model of "government guidance, professional promotion, and market operation," accumulating valuable experience for the standardized and scaled development of minigolf events.
Moving forward, the China Minigolf Sport Promotion Committee (CMPC) will continue to use events as a catalyst. On one hand, it will deepen the "Sports + Culture and Tourism" integration model, seeking out more venues with both natural and cultural appeal to make minigolf a "window" for showcasing local charm. On the other hand, it will further develop the talent cultivation system. Following the national minigolf referee and coach training session held in Suzhou in late August, which has already built a reserve of professional expertise for promoting the sport, subsequent efforts will include campus promotions, community programs, and public training to make the sport more accessible. The aim is to transform minigolf from a "niche sport" into a "nationwide favorite," promoting an active, healthy lifestyle for more people and contributing to the deeper integration of sports development and rural revitalization.
