We are excited to announce the 2018 Pro Skills Basketball China Basketball and Cultural Tour!

On August 6th a group of Pro Skills Basketball (PSB) players, both past and present, accompanied by family members and PSB coaches will embark on a three-city tour of China.

Over the course of eleven days, these young men will gain a better understanding of China’s traditions and cultural practices as they tour Shanghai, Chengdu, and Beijing while also having some great basketball experiences along the way.

In each city, the basketball activities include friendlies against a famous streetball team in Shanghai, a professional CBA team in Chengdu, and China’s top-rated university in Beijing.

What Will Happen on the PSB China Basketball & Cultural Tour?

In Shanghai, our players will experience China in its most modern form.

As we tour the Bund, Yu Gardens, and mingle with locals in People’s Park, our group will gain perspective on the influences, both old and new, that molded the city into a global financial and commercial hub.

On the court, our players will take on the famous X-Battle streetball team at Shanghai’s Rucker Park.

The group’s leader, hotdog俊, has helped bring streetball to China’s national conscience and popularized pick-up basketball more generally throughout the country.

Next, the group travels to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province and a Unesco designated center of renowned gastronomy.

While there, we will tour the world’s largest Panda research center and Chengdu’s historic districts.

All the while, we’ll be working in plenty of chances to sample some delicious Sichuan food – one of the four fundamental pillars of Chinese cuisine.

After taking in the sights of the city, our players will face the 2016 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Champions, the Sichuan Blue Whales.

Prior to the contest, we will travel to the Blue Whales’ training facility for a joint meal to give both sides the chance to get to know each other before taking the court.

Finally, the team will head back east for the last leg of the trip in Beijing and a matchup with Tsinghua University – China’s top academic institution – similar to Harvard or MIT here in the States.

Off the court, we will tour the Temple of Heaven, hike on the Great Wall, and visit the Forbidden City.

Seeing these ancient sites, in combination with the earlier and more modern elements of the trip, will be a perfect capstone to the overall cultural experience.

From a basketball standpoint, we believe our three-tiered basketball approach (streetball, college, and pro) will give our guys a more complete look at the present state of Chinese basketball and a better appreciation of the role the game plays culturally in China.

In summary, we cannot wait to leave next week! We will film the entire trip and put together a documentary when we return home.

Until that comes out you can follow along with our journey on Instagram (@proskillschina & @proskillsbasketball) and Twitter (@ProSkillsBball)!