Everyone is making the pilgrimage to Sunset Dongdan –
Beijing’s legendary street basketball tournament, held on a
court that’s come to be known as the “Holy Land” of Chinese
streetball.,If they perform well, they’ll be picked up by one of
the big boys, maybe even MoreFree, for the competition’s finale:
the night games.,Like most traditional streetball tournaments, it’s
individuals and not teams that come to play in Sunset
Dongdan.,Henan province native Liu Jie, whose towering stature is a
dead giveaway that he hasn’t just come to spectate,
played the previous Sunday and stayed at a friend’s place in
Beijing all week so he could make the final day of the tournament
before heading home.,Players Wang Jing and Li Tianrong are the
chosen pair, and the crowd closes in on one half of the court as
the two standout players start their match.,Perhaps Liu Jie from
Henan puts it best when asked what Dongdan Court and
MoreFree’s tournament have come to mean to the Chinese basketball
community.
The Beijing Basketball Court That Became the “Holy Land” of Chinese Streetball
