When the passion of football meets the weight of Chu culture, when the sweat of the green field blends into the fireworks of Jingchu land, a "two-way rush" about sports and cultural tourism is slowly unfolding in Hubei.

On the evening of April 12th, the Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Huangshi City, Hubei Province, was brightly lit and packed. The 2026 Hubei Provincial Urban Football League (referred to as "Chu Chao") of Hubei Bank has officially kicked off. This is the first mass football tournament in Hubei province that covers the entire province, runs through the whole year, and implements a home and away system.

Chu Chao "- a football tournament that embodies regional characteristics and the spirit of the times, not only ignites the enthusiasm of fans, but also becomes a new pivot to leverage local cultural and tourism consumption. From cheering and cheering inside the stadium to cultural and tourism consumption outside the stadium, "Chu Chao" has become a vivid practice of deep integration of tradition and modernity, competition and leisure, sports and cultural tourism.

Jingchu Passion on the Green Field

The opening of Chu Chao can be called a 'hot' event. The competition has not yet started, and the 9.9 yuan "affordable" ticket is already hard to come by. As the opening ceremony approaches, fans from all over Hubei are rushing to Yellowstone, and the surrounding area of the stadium is already bustling with people.

Inside the Huangshi Olympic Sports Center Stadium, which can accommodate tens of thousands of people, the stadium is packed with fans dressed in various jerseys, waving flags, and singing cheering songs. When the referee's whistle sounded, the entire stadium seemed to be ignited, with cheers and shouts echoing one after another.

This kind of popularity is not accidental, but the result of multiple factors working together.

Hubei, as one of the important regions of Chinese football, has always had a strong football atmosphere. From professional leagues to campus football, from professional training to hobbies, football has long been integrated into the bloodline of the children of Jingchu. The hosting of Chu Chao provides an outlet for this enthusiasm to be released.

Next is the innovative competition mechanism. Chu Chao has broken down the barriers of traditional competitions and adopted a more open and inclusive approach to organizing events. This season's league has selected over 2000 players, including retired players, employees of enterprises and institutions, freelancers, and current students.

The "Chu Chao" competition is not limited to professional players, but is aimed at a wide range of football enthusiasts; Not limited to a single city, covering multiple cities and prefectures in Hubei province. This model of "universal participation and sharing" greatly expands the participation and influence of the competition. At the same time, the innovation in competition design, viewing experience, interactive elements, and other aspects of the event has also made Chu Chao different from ordinary amateur events, with stronger viewing and dissemination capabilities.

In the end, the opening game of "Chu Chao" ended with Huangshi team drawing 1-1 with Jingzhou team.

From a 'good start' to a 'long-lasting prosperity'

In fact, similar to the previously popular "Su Chao", the "Chu Chao" has already gone beyond the significance of regional sports events and is an opportunity to drive local cultural and tourism consumption.

The relevant person in charge of the Hubei Provincial Department of Commerce introduced that taking the opportunity of the "Chu Chao" event, Hubei has formulated three integrated consumption promotion sections: "competition venues+markets", "commercial districts+events", and "digital+consumption".

According to Changjiang Cloud, following the model of Su Chao's "1 yuan ticket drives 7.3 yuan surrounding consumption", "Chu Chao" is expected to drive consumption of over 80 million yuan in 8 home games in Huangshi, and the events in Hubei Province are expected to tap into a consumer market of over 2 billion yuan.

The opening match of "Chu Chao" has completed a high-quality start, but as a league that needs to continue to develop, how can it move from a "good start" to a "long-lasting prosperity"?

Regarding this, Liu Meng, one of the advocates of "Chu Chao" and a member of the Hubei Provincial Political Consultative Conference, proposed to continue deepening around three aspects: "cultural soul casting, economic blood making, and system consolidation":

One is to deepen the "cultural soul casting" and create an irreplaceable "intercity dialogue". Organize various cities and prefectures in Hubei to deeply explore their own cultural symbols (such as Shiyan Wudang culture, Yichang Three Gorges culture, Enshi Tu Miao culture), inject them into team culture and fan interaction, and make every game a wonderful dialogue of inter city culture.

Secondly, upgrade the "ticket economy" and build a "sports+" consumer ecosystem. Attract scenic spots, hotels, and commercial districts to join, and launch a province wide "one ticket access" discount. At the same time, we will develop more "ticket+" packages and create a boutique tourism route of "following the 'Chu Chao' to travel to Hubei", truly transforming the traffic of sports events into cultural and tourism "retention".

Thirdly, establish a solid foundation of the system to ensure the sustainable development of the competition. Solidly implement the youth training policy of at least 3 young players per team to avoid it becoming a formality. At the same time, innovating business cooperation models, developing derivatives, optimizing broadcasting rights, attracting more social capital participation, and enabling "Chu Chao" to have a healthy self generating ability.