Visitors browse a Xinjiang-themed bazaar set up off-site during the Jiangsu Football City League match held in Suzhou in August.

Artux City Football Park, built with investment and support from Kunshan, Suzhou, Jiangsu province, is the first professional sports facility and landmark building in Artux.

Red shirts, roaring crowds and a shared passion for soccer: this was the scene at the Suzhou Sports Centre in late August, where teenagers from Horgos city and Gongliu county in Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region joined local fans in cheering for the home team.

"Watching games on TV, the excitement always feels distant," said Lu Xiumei, a visitor from Horgos attending her first live match of the Jiangsu Football City League, known as "Suchao". "But being here, every attack keeps you on the edge of your seat."

On the sidelines of the match, a Xinjiang bazaar opened ahead of schedule. Shelves were stocked with raisins, almonds, camel milk powder and dried beef. "This is by far the bestselling event since our agricultural products exhibition center opened in 2018," said Zheng Hua, head of the Suzhou-Xinjiang paired assistance agricultural products exhibition and sales center.

"We restocked the prunes three times, and overall sales doubled compared with normal levels. By combining agricultural products, sports and cultural creativity, we're using the games to draw in crowds and plan to keep building on this momentum," Zheng said.

These scenes were made possible by Suzhou's paired assistance team in Xinjiang.

As "Suchao" burst onto the national stage, the Suzhou-Xinjiang paired assistance team saw a strategic opportunity to use the competition to advance its aid programs. In May, the 12th group of Suzhou officials and professionals arrived in Xinjiang to take over the baton, focusing on concrete initiatives such as study tours, exhibitions, ticket promotions and livestreaming. These activities were subsequently rolled out and refined in both Jiangsu and Xinjiang. A detailed framework was then officially unveiled in the form of a 2026 joint action plan aimed at deepening Suzhou-Xinjiang paired assistance and collaboration through the "Suchao" platform.

"Last year it was just a rough idea," said Ye Lai, deputy head of Suzhou's paired assistance team in the Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture. "Now, after rounds of discussion, it has come into sharp focus."

Beyond the matches, "Suchao" ticket stubs have forged a new bond between Suzhou and Xinjiang. After extensive coordination, the three regions on Suzhou's paired assistance map — Horgos, Gongliu, together with Artux in Kezilesu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture — each brought forward their finest attractions. A "Suchao" ticket-stub benefit was officially introduced, granting free admission through 2026 to major sites in Horgos, Gongliu and Artux. Additionally, the benefit includes discounts of up to 20 percent at the Guomen Hotel in Horgos for anyone presenting a Suzhou match stub.

Suzhou's paired assistance to Xinjiang, however, goes back much further. In 2010, following directives from the central and provincial governments, Suzhou was assigned to provide targeted support to Horgos, Gongliu and Artux. Under this arrangement, Suzhou Industrial Park took the lead in supporting Horgos, Zhangjiagang supported Gongliu and Kunshan supported Artux.

Over the past 16 years, Suzhou has provided a total of 8.85 billion yuan ($1.31 billion) in aid funding. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), it allocated 622 million yuan annually, accounting for 24.3 percent of Jiangsu's total and ranking first in the province. To date, 131 officials and 953 professionals have been sent to Xinjiang, while 858 assistance projects have been launched. Private donations to the three regions have reached 305 million yuan, and consumer-support programs have generated another 602 million yuan.

In Artux, Kunshan's paired assistance team has made it a priority to revive the city's reputation as the "hometown of soccer with a century-long legacy".

The roots run deep: residents of Iksak village in Artux have played soccer since 1885. To give this heritage a fitting stage, Kunshan funded the Artux City Football Park, which opened in 2024. Located within the sports center of Kezilesu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture, the 35,764-square-meter complex cost 17 million yuan, funded through aid budgets at various levels.

Built between September 2023 and June 2024, it features an 11-aside artificial pitch, a 400-meter running track, floodlights, 7,054 seats and an LED screen. Beyond hosting matches, it serves as a hub for fitness, youth training and soccer culture.

"Thanks to our deep-rooted heritage and the sustained support from Jiangsu's assistance program, every step of the way — from hard infrastructure such as stadium seating, LED screens and restroom facilities to the development of youth training squads — has been backed by the aid team," said Sulipunur Aniwar, director of the Artux bureau of culture, tourism and sports. "This has laid a solid foundation for hosting the upcoming fourth Artux Cup."

In recent years, Kunshan's assistance team has invested heavily in building seven high-standard rural soccer pitches, including the Artux City Football Park. It has also supported the "star of the Pamirs" youth training camp and promoted youth soccer exchanges between Kunshan and Artux. Currently, Artux boasts 146 soccer pitches, equivalent to four per 10,000 residents — a density that ranks among the highest in the country.

According to Sulipunur, Artux will send another delegation to attend a "Suchao" match in September as part of a special exchange. "Moving forward, we will leverage aid resources to sharpen our young players' skills, develop soccer as an industry and integrate soccer culture with cultural tourism — so that the brand of the 'hometown of soccer with a century-long legacy' shines even brighter."