Baseball fan vies for Ningxia home run

A young man from Taiwan has stepped up to the plate in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region to introduce the autonomous region to his favorite sports — baseball and softball.

Despite being 2,600 kilometers away from Taipei, where baseball and softball are already popular, 37-year-old fitness manager Lin Zhi-xun aims to use the sports to bring people together in Ningxia and promote healthier lifestyles.

"Even though we only introduced baseball and softball here in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia, in 2022, the development has surpassed our expectations," said Lin, who founded Ningxia's first baseball and softball association. "Not only men are enthusiastic, but women are also actively participating."

This year he led the association's women's baseball team to the national women's baseball club competition. They secured fourth place, which was "truly unexpected".

Before coming to Ningxia, Lin had only heard of its name from a night market in Taipei, which shares the region's name.

His life in Ningxia started in 2016 with a phone call from an investor who needed someone to manage a chain of fitness centers in the region.

Lin decided to take the opportunity, even though he initially thought he would end up working in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Shenzhen, "just as my Taiwan fellows did", he said.

He did an internet search for Ningxia and found it to be a relatively unknown and seemingly underdeveloped region, which made him worry about the security there. Also, none of his acquaintances had ever been there.

However, upon arrival, he found Ningxia to be quite different from his expectations. Among all the appealing features, particularly, he loved the climate.

"It's much drier compared to the humid environment in Taipei," he said.

Also, clothes dry quickly without becoming moldy. The pleasant conditions in the city have made his acclimation relatively smooth and easy, he said. The city has also developed rapidly and significantly since 2016.