Description

It’s a sweltering night at an outdoor sports facility in downtown Guangzhou, China. The complex is surrounded by tall apartment buildings, and office towers in the finincial district are visible in the distance. Rows of bright lights illuminate a number of basketball courts and soccer pitches in the sports complex. A pre-recorded announcement is played over the public address system, first in Mandarin then follwed by Cantonese and English, advising that the facility is about to close for the night. The English announcement begins “Dear friends, the opening hours of today are about to finish”. In the background, we hear several groups of young people playing half-court basketball. There are balls bouncing, the high-pitched squeak of rubber soles on the shiny playing surface, and the shouts and calls of players on the courts and their supporters sitting along the sidelines.