Artux rallies around Xinjiang soccer competition

Passionate fans in Artux, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, are getting behind the city's first regional invitational soccer competition, cheering for teams both local and from further afield, embracing the community spirit and injecting vitality into the local economy.

Artux has a rich soccer history, and is thought by many to be one of the earliest cities on the Silk Road where the sport was played in relatively modern times.

Memet Ismail, 73, waited in the stands in his wheelchair for an hour before kickoff, hoping to lift the spirits of his nephew, who is the head coach of a team from Urumqi, the regional capital.

His excitement has been shared by tens of thousands of fans during the ongoing 12-day tournament in the Kizilsu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture of Xinjiang.

Another fan, Muhmet Reyim, 78, said he didn't want to miss a single match of the tournament. "I've liked soccer since childhood, and I played soccer when I was young," he said, adding that he wanted to feel the intoxicating atmosphere again.