In Xujiadai, a small village in east China, baseball, a niche sport in the country, has become an engine for rural growth. To date, the village, located in Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, has hosted over 100 baseball and softball tournaments, earning it the title of China's No.1 Baseball Village.

A decade ago, most villagers in Xujiadai were engaged in pig farming. In recent years, as China advanced nationwide rural environmental improvement efforts, the village also undertook cleanup initiatives. In 2017, when Liu Jianqun became secretary of the village's Party branch, he faced a pressing question: How could the village achieve sustainable development after cleaning up its environment?

The turning point came from an observant insight. At the time, Pinghu, the county-level city in Jiaxing which Xujiadai is part of, hosted many businesses run by entrepreneurs from China's Taiwan Province and Japan. Liu, a former corporate manager, noticed that these businesspeople would often travel to nearby Shanghai on weekends to play baseball and socialize.

After clearing the village's pig farms, a low-lying, waterlogged plot at the village entrance sat unused. Liu developed a bold idea: transforming it into a baseball stadium. This would attract businesspeople from nearby areas, promote sports culture and boost tourism. 

From site surveys and planning to land acquisition and construction, Liu led the villagers through each phase. In just a few months, they managed to turn the once‑barren land into a functional youth baseball stadium. 

A tournament hub 

In late 2018, the stadium opened and soon hosted its first event: the Third Little Deer League Autumn Baseball Tournament, featuring teams from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, as well as Shanghai. The response surprised everyone: over 20 teams participated. 

"We never imagined this seemingly niche sport had so many enthusiasts," Liu said.

In 2019, the village hosted a national youth baseball championship—a move that soon drew the attention of the Chinese Baseball Association. After an inspection visit, association officials were impressed: It was rare in China for a village to place such emphasis on the sport.

As a result, since 2020, the National Youth Baseball Championship of China has been regularly held there, establishing the village as a recognized tournament base for the sport.

As tournaments grew, the original youth baseball stadium became inadequate. Xujiadai invested 50 million yuan ($7 million) to build an international baseball stadium. In July, the 12,500-square-meter international stadium, double the size of the original one, opened, enabling the village to host international adult baseball and softball events. To date, the village has hosted over 100 baseball and softball events, turning into a rural sports hub in east China and beyond.

"In 2026, the Xujiadai baseball stadium will host 24 high-level events, for which preparations are now in full swing," Mo Yun, an official of Lindai Town, which administers Xujiadai, said.

Greater benefits 

The baseball events have brought notable benefits to the village. According to Mo, the National Youth U10 (under 10 years old) Baseball Championship this year gathered 52 teams. The 20-day event generated over 4.5 million yuan ($637,000) in total revenue.

The tournaments have significantly boosted local tourism. Agritainment restaurants see three times as many visitors compared to the off-season, and hotels in downtown Pinghu report higher occupancy. Local agricultural products are often pre-ordered and quickly sell out.

During the tournament season, the village focuses on providing accommodations and related services. In the off-season, it shifts to offering baseball-themed activities such as team-building, study tours, training programs and family-friendly options including fruit picking and day trips to the baseball park—ensuring year-round operation.

The village continues to upgrade its offerings. Beyond the stadium, it has built a multi-purpose hall for exhibitions, wedding banquets and corporate events. In the first half of this year alone, it hosted over 200 events, and lawn wedding bookings are already scheduled through 2028.

In 2024, Xujiadai received 960,000 tourists. Today, the village has developed an integrated industrial chain encompassing baseball tournaments, sports and leisure, dining and accommodation, fruit picking, and cultural experiences, providing over 500 jobs annually for villagers.

Rooting in rural life 

Baseball has become not only an economic pillar of the village, but also part of local people's life. When the baseball stadium was first built, the town-level authorities of Lindai selected over 40 students to form the Little Dragons baseball club. Today, a youth training system covering U8 to U18 players is in place.

The Little Dragons team has won 18 championships to date. In 2023, they represented China to participate in the 41st U12 Men's Soft Baseball World Championship in Japan, where they secured second place.

To make the sport more accessible, the village promotes the easier-to-learn five-player baseball games and organizes farmer baseball tournaments. In 2025, these tournaments were expanded to neighboring towns for the first time, attracting over 100 participants. 

Xujiadai has also integrated baseball with local intangible cultural heritage, including dragon dance performances and boat racing competitions. During major tournaments or festivals, these traditional performances are held alongside baseball games, enhancing the events' appeal.

Xujiadai is only one of the regions in Zhejiang boosting local development through sport events. The province is developing distinctive sports industries as a means to promote urban-rural integration and common prosperity, developing towns specializing in sports or outdoor activities like paddle-boarding, according to the provincial authorities. 

"The Xujiadai model could be expanded to more regions. But the key lies in selecting a distinctive sport, and launching targeted and professional operations to boost rural growth, improve villager income and drive rural-urban integration," Mo said. BR

(Print Edition Title: Field of Dreams)

The author is a reporter with China Today magazine 

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon 

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