China endeavors to make winter sports accessible in all seasons

Elementary school students practice cross-country skiing techniques at the schoolyard in Yichun city, east China’s Jiangxi province, Sept. 16, 2021. (Photo by Zhou Liang/People’s Daily Online)

As winter sports infrastructure in China constantly improves, ice and snow sports are no longer restricted to low-temperature environment in winter, and ski and skating enthusiasts in the country can now enjoy winter sports whenever they want at indoor facilities.

The Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, which will soon kick off, have greatly fueled people’s enthusiasm for ice and snow sports and created historic opportunities for their development in China.

In recent years, regions across China have built new facilities, created new scenarios and developed new projects for ice and snow sports through scientific and technological means, making ice and snow sports available to citizens in all seasons.

In China’s capital city Beijing, many citizens can have fun skiing on ski simulators near their homes; in southwest China’s Chongqing municipality, ski enthusiasts can ski freely on dry ski slopes; and in Jilin city, northeast China’s Jilin province, residents are able to enjoy winter sports at a ski resort converted from an air-raid shelter project all year round.

China’s goal of involving 300 million people in winter sports couldn’t have been achieved without the country’s efforts to construct and improve relevant facilities.

In the past, China only had a few ice and snow sports fields and facilities, which were small in scale and provided uneven services, and therefore were unable to suit the development needs of winter sports.

Just a few years ago, Shijingshan district of Beijing had no ice rink or ski slope, said Liu Xiaodan, vice president for business at the sports school of Shijingshan district, adding that when the school first organized on-ice training for students, it had to use the outdoor facilities of other districts in Beijing.

A citizen experiences skiing with the help of virtual reality devices at a cultural square in Qinhuangdao city, north China’s Hebei province, Jan. 6, 2022. (Photo by Cao Jianxiong/People’s Daily Online)

In recent years, Shijingshan district has increased financial input and attracted investment in winter sports, establishing facilities including an ice and snow sports center for citizens and a dry ski center. With these facilities, students of the sports school can now receive ice and snow sports training near their school.

In an effort to popularize winter sports and develop relevant fitness and leisure activities, various regions in China have actively built fields and facilities for winter sports, including outdoor ice rinks and ski resorts as well as portable ice rinks, meeting the growing demands of people for ice and snow sports.

Recently, a several-centimeter-thick dry ski mat made of special materials has won favor with consumers as it is easy to carry and use and is very practical.

The application of special materials to winter sports, represented by the dry ski mat, has freed winter sports from dependency on seasons and facilities.

Portable alternative materials and facilities have broken the constraints of time and space on winter sports and diversified the scenarios of these sports, allowing people to skate and ski whenever they want.

Children experience dryland curling at a square in Zhanggong district, Ganzhou city, east China’s Jiangxi province, Jan. 19, 2022. (Photo by Hu Jiangtao/People’s Daily Online)

In many regions, residents can take part in ice and snow sports activities in urban areas, learn winter sports skills in shopping malls, and experience the fun of these sports in parks and communities. Relevant activities and facilities have greatly increased public awareness of and participation in ice and snow sports.

As the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games approach, the country is enveloped in an atmosphere of winter sports. More and more people find pleasure in ice and snow sports, which have been gradually integrated into people’s daily life.

It is believed that the Beijing 2022 will further stimulate the development of ice and snow sports in China.