A thrilling rural basketball tournament has brought an influx of visitors and a substantial amount of tourism revenue to a small village with around 1,000 inhabitants in southwest China's Guizhou province.

The three-day tournament known as the "Village Basketball Association", or VBA -- a humorous twist on North America's NBA basketball league, was held in Taipan village in Guizhou's Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture.

The event is rooted in a celebration observed by several ethnic minority groups of the traditional Chixin Festival, which celebrates the first crop of new rice and brings good fortune for the rice harvest.

The VBA already generated quite some internet buzz in the previous year, touching many people with sheer enthusiasm for basketball from Guizhou's rural folks.

This year's VBA, held still on a outdoor court but in even grander scale, marked the final-four and final stages of a grand provincial rural basketball tournament, with players all made up of village residents, including technicians, migrant workers and young village officials. Prizes for winners were agricultural produce and ethnic handicrafts.

Although the tournament has concluded, joy and excitement are still in the air, with waves of tourists flocking to the village.

"I drove all the way from Shenzhen and made it here today. I'm very happy. I'm going to explore the nearby areas including Jinsi Nanmu Village and Shidong Township," said Gan Xia, a tourist from southern Shenzhen City.

As the village turns into a tourism hotspot, local residents are reaping the benefits of the immensely successful tournament.

"During the 'VBA' basketball tournament, our guest house was fully booked, and our canteen and store were extremely busy as well. My wife and I barely had a break. Since the 'VBA' tournament, our business has seen a significant growth," said villager Yang Guanghui.

"Driven by the 'Village Basketball Association', many tourists come to visit our Shidong scenic zone, boosting spending in catering, accommodation and souvenir consumption. Besides enjoying the flower blossoms and having a taste of the Miao ethnic culture, tourists also bought many souvenirs, including Miao ethnic silver ornaments, embroidery and paper-cutting," said Zhang Wanming, person in charge of the Shidong Miao Ethnic Cultural Tourism Site.

According to the provincial sports bureau, people from over 2,600 villages participated in some 5,000 basketball games during this year’s tournament, which effectively boosted the development of local tourism, culture and economy.

"Over the course of four games in three days, our county has received 181,900 tourists, with tourism receipts amounting to 55.16 million yuan (over 8 million U.S. dollars)," said Yang Jiahua, head of the sports department of Qiandongnan Prefecture’s Bureau of Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism.