Chinese students embrace winter sports at ski resorts in PE class

Middle school students practise core techniques in a ski class. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)

Even a year after the conclusion of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, people's passion for winter sports continues to grip the country.

CHANGCHUN, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- As the spring semester kicked off on Monday, more than 4,600 middle school students are taking an extraordinary class under the mountains in northeast China's Jilin City.

Knowing about the gear, learning basic ski techniques and practicing skiing in a wedge -- these are all in their first P.E. class of this semester outside the campus.

Jilin City, which lies in a high-quality powder snow zone, is a cradle to Beijing Winter Olympics gold medalist Su Yiming. With several top-rated ski resorts including Lake Songhua and Beidahu, Jilin becomes a popular destination to ski enthusiasts in China.

Even a year after the conclusion of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, people's passion for winter sports continues to grip the country.

To further promote youth participation in winter sports and build upon the success of engaging 300 million people in winter sports thanks to the Olympic Winter Games, these students are invited to participate in skiing classes at two large ski resorts near the city to usher in their new semester this week.

Unlike other beginners in the class, 13-year-old Zhang Zhenhao is now an intermediate brushing up on his skiing skills from snowplough turns to parallel turns.

"It's now my third season of skiing. I fell in love with it on my first skiing class at school," said the junior one student.

Since 2018, Jilin City has implemented a project to promote winter sports among primary and middle school students, using activities such as skiing classes, competitions and study tours to get more students motivated in winter sports.

Currently, there are 75 state-level schools featuring winter sports classes in Jilin City, with over 230 school teams in six sports, including skiing, ice skating, and ice hockey, according to Lin Ying, an official with the education bureau of the city.

"Children's enthusiasm for skiing will also impel their parents into the sport. It's a new growth point of the market," said Liu Xiaolei, a manager with the Lake Songhua Resort.