Football players of the Team Hope from Tuohula township train hard on July 12 in Moyu county, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

Football players of the Team Hope from Tuohula township train hard on July 12 in Moyu county, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

Football players of the Team Hope from Tuohula township train hard on July 12 in Moyu county, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

Football players of the Team Hope from Tuohula township train hard on July 12 in Moyu county, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

 

The Tuohula township in Moyu county of Hotan Prefecture, is located over 1,961 kilometers from Urumqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and more than 5,000 kilometers away from Beijing. In the middle of the wilderness, this little township is passionate about football.

Children there start playing in the fields, deserts or along the canals when they are small. With the help of local teachers, a football team named Hope has been formed by a group of middle school students. Football is their dream, even though they don't have a proper field, professional shoes, or systematic training.

One day, an unexpected invitation surprised the group. The call came from some teenagers in Beijing who share the same enthusiasm for football.

After they saw the stories of this team in Xinjiang through the Internet, they decided to invite them to Beijing for friendly matches. Luckily, their idea was enthusiastically supported by their parents, schools and even strangers online.

For people in Tuohula, even going to Urumqi is a major event. The chance to visit Beijing is beyond anything these simple folks ever imagined. Team Hope was thrilled over the news and have begun to train harder and harder for the upcoming games. They are overjoyed at the chance to communicate with their peers in Beijing, while talking about Xinjiang and football.