HOUSTON, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Forty-eight students from Gansu Province, China, arrived in Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, on Thursday to start an 11-day basketball tour in the United States.

Themed "I have a date with the Spurs," the event was co-sponsored by Gansu Aesthetic Education Promotion Association, San Antonio Spurs and Future Sifang Group, a Chinese auction company.

During the tour, 40 elementary school basketball lovers from the destitute areas of Gansu Province will watch the game of Spurs in San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas. They will also receive professional basketball training from the Spurs.

At NBA New Year's game on the evening of Dec. 31, the students will perform a traditional dance of "Mulan" in the half-time break to send New Year wishes to overseas Chinese as well as American people.

According to the organizer, the juniors participating in the event were selected from nearly 10,000 students from various schools in Gansu Province. They are fond of basketball and always dream of coming to NBA to watch world's top basketball teams.

In addition to basketball training, students will also visit NASA Johnson Space Center and Houston Museum of Natural Science and watch ice hockey competitions.