Winter sports begin Chinese 'spring' (4)

　　[Photo by Xu Congjun/ For China Daily]

China's sports governing bodies say they are willing to go the distance and take responsibility in order to get more people to take part in winter sports.

"We will work hard to carry out the five-year (2016-2020) plan on public fitness, and pledge efforts to introduce winter sports to the public," said Liu Guoyong, director for public sports at the country's sport governing body.

China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region has mapped out a detailed plan to consolidate a mass base of support for winter sports. More skating rinks and ski resorts will be built, more winter sports schools will be established and more courses will be opened.

The push for development of winter sports infrastructure is not only limited to China's colder provinces. Guizhou in southwestern China will also build more indoor skating rinks and outdoor ski resorts, according to Song Guoqiang, deputy director of the Guizhou Sports Bureau.

Above all, more people taking part in winters sports means more talent at the professional level. Yang Yang, a member of International Olympic Committee and the first Chinese Winter Olympic champion, believes that mass participation will help spread Olympism and help China become competitive in international competitions.

"We made a commitment to bring 300 million people into the fold of winter sports in our bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics. We are now on the right path, but the task will take patience, hard work and require the whole society to collaborate," said Yang.